PRIME MINISTER

Chequers: Manpower

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the likely cost of the annual grant from the Cabinet Office  (a) towards the maintenance of and  (b) to cover civilian staff employed at Chequers for 2011-12.

David Cameron: As has been the practice under successive Administrations, information on the Chequers grant will be included in the annual Cabinet Office report and accounts which is published at the end of the financial year.

COBR

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers are entitled to convene a meeting of the COBR crisis response committee.

David Cameron: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie), on 28 February 2011,  Official Report, column 42.

Economic Governance Task Force

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to attend the EU Heads of Government Summit on Economic Governance to be held on 11 March 2011.

David Cameron: There is no EU Heads of Government Summit on Economic Governance on 11 March 2011. I will attend an Extraordinary European Council that day to discuss the situation in Libya. There will also be an inter-governmental event for leaders of countries from the eurozone area.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Expenditure

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what expenditure  (a) his Department and  (b) each public body sponsored by his Department incurred on engaging external audit services in each of the last three years; and to which service providers such payments were made in each year.

Owen Paterson: Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available following the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
	However, approximate costs of external audit are available for the 2010-11 financial year. The Department will incur estimated costs of £75,000 on external audit, provided by the National Audit Office. This sum includes the cost of auditing the Department's arm's length bodies.

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department were in the civil service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office does not have any staff in the civil service redeployment pool.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in its non-departmental public body.

Owen Paterson: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Licensing: Firearms

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appeals against the refusal to grant a firearms licence were made to the Secretary of State in each year since 2005; and what proportion of such appeals were successful.

Owen Paterson: The following table indicates the number of appeals since 2005 against the chief constable's refusal to grant a firearm certificate. Since the devolution of Policing and Justice Powers in April 2010 I have only been responsible for national security firearms appeals where confidential information and personal protection weapons are involved. The remainder of appeals are for the Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford.
	
		
			   Number of appeals  Number of successful appeals  Percentage successful 
			 2005 104 7 7 
			 2006 62 10 16 
			 2007 70 7 10 
			 2008 119 19 16 
			 2009 193 90 47 
			 2010 72 4 6 
			 2011 (1)14 - - 
			 (1) Up to Tuesday 1 March.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

Owen Paterson: Home civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office now receive HR support, including policies such as a volunteering policy, from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The MoJ has policies which allow employees to take time off, within specified limits, to fulfil specific volunteering roles such as magisterial duties and school governors, and general volunteering.
	There are systems in place to allow employees to donate via payroll giving, such as through the 'Give As You Earn Scheme' or by employees making arrangements for voluntary deductions from pay.

WALES

Departmental Food

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when she expects her Department to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

David Jones: The Wales Office has no in house catering facilities and does not source food.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if she will take steps to ensure that her published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum.

David Jones: Our organisational chart was published in 2010 on the Wales Office website and will be updated at the end of the financial year. All information relating to staff in the SCS paybands at these levels has been disclosed.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps her Department has taken to support the big society initiative.

David Jones: I have met with civil society organisations to discuss their thoughts on the big society and how they see themselves fitting into the vision, as well as visiting schemes which are shining examples of the big society in action.
	I have also discussed the big society vision with Carl Sargeant, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Social Justice, and my officials are in the process of setting up meetings with his, and colleagues from the Office for Civil Society, to discuss specific issues.
	Further, in the early summer we intend to hold a seminar in Wales to discuss the big society and the opportunities that it offers.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether her Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

David Jones: Staff at the Wales Office are employed by the Ministry of Justice and the Welsh Assembly Government-both of these Departments have policies that enable and encourage volunteering. Both Departments also have "give as you earn" schemes as part of their payroll services to facilitate charitable donation.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Decentralisation

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 530-1W, what assessment she has made of the extent of decentralisation to which regional management plans can be subject.

Richard Benyon: We need radical reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Moving away from centralised micro-management to more effective regional management, by those closest to the fishery, is a key priority. Any changes must be compatible with the Treaties, but more responsibility for implementation can-and should-be devolved to member states, allowing them to work together regionally to put in place appropriate management measures, without creating layers of bureaucracy.

Marine Management Organisation: Fisheries

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the Marine Management Organisation did not appoint a representative of the cockle industry to the Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are made up of representatives from the constituent local authorities (who provide funding for the IFCA) along with people from across the different sectors that use or are knowledgeable about the inshore marine area, such as commercial and recreational fishermen, environmental groups and marine researchers, who offer their time voluntarily. The exercise to recruit these people known as appointees was a significant recruitment process carried out last year by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) working with DEFRA and Capita. The exercise generated considerable interest around the country and was delivered in line with the Nolan principles of public appointments. A total of 341 applications were received of which 283 candidates were interviewed and 111 appointments made to the 10 IFCAs around the country. All appointees were selected on merit against three main criteria set out in the information sent out to all candidates:
	An active interest and involvement in the local community;
	A passion for making a positive difference in the local area;
	Excellent communication, influencing and participation skills.
	Not all of the Sea Fisheries Committee appointees who applied around the country were successful in being appointed to the local IFCA. If candidates were not successful it was because other applicants in the same category scored higher in the discussion interviews. In the example of the Kent and Essex IFCA, the MMO was asked to appoint nine appointees to cover all of the disciplines and three appointees from the commercial fishing sector were appointed.
	The IFCAs will be undertaking a broader range of issues and duties when they replace sea Fisheries Committees and it is not possible for a spokesman from individual associations or industry groups to be appointed. I am sure however that the Sea Fisheries Committee and the IFCA going forwards will wish to maintain close links and discussions with the local cockle industry since the Thames Estuary Cockle Fishery Regulating Order forms an important part of the fisheries management and enforcement work. The quarterly meetings are also open to the public and there is no reason that industry representatives cannot attend these meetings to hear the business that is being discussed.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the House of Commons Commission has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

John Thurso: In January 2010, the House of Commons published its Single Equality Scheme which contains a commitment to:
	"engage the local and wider community through outreach work, work experience schemes, voluntary activities, etc".
	This action has been taken forward through various activities, including:
	Co-operation with CSV, an employee volunteering organisation which arranges and supports teams participating in practical activities which benefit and make a visible difference to the local community. Seven team challenges have been contracted in 2010. Teams of staff from across the House Service have participated in activities such as gardening for Help the Aged and painting buildings for Art in the Park.
	Participation in the National Mentoring Consortium's Ethnic Minority Undergraduate Scheme (EMUS). Undergraduates from ethnic minorities studying at London universities are matched with staff volunteers, with the aim of enhancing the employability and career skills of those mentored.
	Offering work experience opportunities. The largest take-up is from Year 10 students undertaking work-based placements as part of the national curriculum. House staff volunteer to supervise a student for one or two weeks to introduce them to the workplace and promote the House of Commons as a potential employer.
	An initiative to coach teachers from Southwark schools. The coaching will be carried out on the parliamentary estate by House staff who hold an accredited advanced coaching qualification and have volunteered their time.
	The House has the facility to allow employees to donate through Give As You Earn (GAYE). In February 2011, 42 people donated in this way.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Expenditure

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure his Department incurred on engaging external audit services in each of the last three years; and to which service providers such payments were made in each year.

David Mundell: The National Audit Office provides all external audit services to the Scotland Office. The indicative costs in each of the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 25,500 
			 2008-09 26,000 
			 2009-10 26,000

Departmental Food

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects his Department to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office procures very few food products. In instructing caterers for events paid for by the Scotland Office, regard is had to whether the food procured meets British standards of production.

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department were in the civil service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All its staff are on secondment from other public bodies, mainly the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. However, we can confirm that there are no Scotland Office staff currently on either the Scottish Government or Ministry of Justice redeployment pools.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum.

David Mundell: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold Departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Visits

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans Ministers and officials of his Department have for overseas visits in the next 12 months.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office will consider opportunities to promote Scotland overseas provided the costs are justified and give maximum value to taxpayers.

Voluntary Work

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department are participating in volunteering activities as part of his Department's involvement in the big society initiative.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I are actively involved with numerous charities on a private basis.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All its staff are on secondment from other public bodies, mainly the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. Both the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government facilitate volunteering among their staff and both bodies participate in the 'Give as You Earn' scheme which allows staff to make charitable donations through employers' payroll.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband: Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of the funding allocated to the expansion of broadband provision announced in the comprehensive spending review he estimates will be spent in Scotland.

Edward Vaizey: £530 million of funding to support broadband rollout is available up to 2015. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland was announced as one of the pilot projects at the time of the comprehensive spending review. My officials have been working with the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to define the project in more detail. The expected funding for this project will be between £5 and £10 million. No further specific allocations for projects in Scotland have been made yet but my officials continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and Scotland Office on plans to support broadband roll out in Scotland.

Food

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects his Department to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

John Penrose: The Department does not source food as part of its day to day business, following the closure of the staff canteen in December 2009.

Gambling

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what expenditure his Department incurred on the Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010.

John Penrose: The cost to produce the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010 and its distribution was approximately £560,000 funded through grant in aid provided to the Gambling Commission by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Internet

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to increase access to the internet for  (a) older people and  (b) people with low incomes before the date of the proposed digitalisation of the benefits system; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Martha Lane Fox was reappointed, in June 2010, as the UK Digital Champion to champion the work to get everyone online. Martha has been working with UK Online centres to bridge the digital divide and hopes this can be achieved by offering a computing package, complete with telephone, for less than £100. The scheme, which was launched in 2010, is only at the pilot stage but Ms Lane Fox hopes it can be extended across the country.
	The £98 package will be sold through 60 UK online centres and Remploy, a company which is refurbishing and selling the PCs, hope to sell more than 8,000.

Public Libraries: Closures

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the effects of proposed library closures on the ability of  (a) older people and  (b) people with low incomes to make enquiries and applications relating to benefits and pensions online; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Responsibility and accountability for day to day management of individual library services is vested in local authorities. Local authorities must be able to show that they have discharged their statutory duty to understand the local needs for library services in their area and to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service to meet those needs, including the needs of older people and people on low incomes. We continue to monitor and assess proposals and decisions being made about changes to library services across England.

Sports: Expenditure

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the effects of reduced local authority expenditure on sports and leisure facilities.

Hugh Robertson: I regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues at the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	Sport England's £135 million mass participation legacy plan Places People Play will bring the sporting legacy to life in communities across the country to deliver a sustainable increase in adult participation for the Games and beyond by improving local sports facilities and by getting more people involved in grassroots sporting activities and in Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Sports: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what changes to sports facilities in Scotland he expects to take place as part of preparations for the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: Hampden Park, Glasgow, is the only London 2012 Olympic venue in Scotland and will stage both the men's and women's football matches. Hampden Park is currently a FIFA and UEFA compliant football stadium and meets the criteria for holding international and domestic football matches. Therefore, we do not expect any structural changes to be made to the stadium in order to stage these matches, although the sponsor branding will be changed to use the London 2012 dressing.
	Three countries have confirmed that they will use facilities in Scotland as Pre-London 2012 Games Training Camps. The British Swimming Team will use the Royal Commonwealth Pool (RCP) in Edinburgh, which is currently undergoing a refurbishment for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and will be completed in time so that it can act as a pre-London 2012 Games training facility. Namibia and Zambia will use The Palace for Art Centre for Sports Excellence-Scotstoun Leisure Centre in Glasgow. The venue is already in use and will also be staging squash and table tennis competitions at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. As both the RCP and Scotstoun Leisure Centre are already equipped for use no changes are required apart from London 2012 branding being used when teams are training.

Tourism

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with  (a) Welsh Assembly Government Ministers and  (b) Ministers of other devolved Administrations on the European Destinations of Excellence (Eden) tourism programme.

John Penrose: Neither the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), nor I have had any discussions with Ministers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland about the European Destinations of Excellence project (EDEN). My Department has had previous discussions with officials in the devolved Administrations about the project, which led to the UK's decision not to participate.
	This issue was recently raised by Jill Evans MEP, and I wrote to her on 23 February.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

John Penrose: The Department strongly supports staff volunteering as an aid to self development, as well as play an active role in their local communities. DCMS currently allows five days paid special leave each year for staff to become involved in a range of voluntary activities, which can range from acting as a School Governor to working with local and national charities.
	In addition, as the lead Government Department for London 2012, DCMS has an important obligation to lead the way on encouraging participation in the Games at all levels. The Department has recently extended its existing policy on volunteering to cover both the London Ambassador's and Games Maker Programme.
	The Department does not have a policy in place allowing staff to donate to charities via payroll, however should staff wish to donate guidance is provided on our intranet site.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biochar

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the policy of his Department is on the inclusion of biochar in its energy efficiency scheme.

Gregory Barker: Green Deal finance will only support measures that can be expected to pay for themselves in energy bill savings over their lifetime and within the period of the finance arrangement. Based on this principle, it appears that biochar would be unlikely to attract Green Deal finance.
	We will shortly launch a Call for Evidence from industry and other stakeholders on the costs and performance of a wide range of measures to determine what they can deliver in terms of energy savings.

Electricity

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the scale of power losses from  (a) overhead electricity lines,  (b) underground cables and  (c) sub-sea cables;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the security of electricity supply through  (a) overhead electricity lines,  (b) underground cables and  (c) sub-sea cables.

Charles Hendry: The Government have made no recent assessment of power losses from, or the security of electricity supply through,  (a) overhead electricity lines,  (b) underground cables and  (c) sub-sea cables. An independent study by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and consultants KEMA on the costs of GB electricity transmission infrastructure options will address both aspects.

Electricity

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will issue guidance to the National Grid on the quantitative and transparent costings of  (a) the (i) costs in power losses and (ii) other whole-life financial costs and  (b) the social, economic and environmental benefits and disbenefits of electricity connection schemes.

Charles Hendry: The Government have no plans to issue such guidance. An independent study by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and consultants KEMA on the costs of GB electricity transmission infrastructure options will address costs in power losses and other whole-life financial costs. The results of this work will be published. It is for the Infrastructure Planning Commission to assess each electricity connection scheme on a case by case basis depending on its specific circumstances, as stated in the draft energy National Policy Statements. The Government intend to finalise and formally approve the energy National Policy Statements in spring 2011.

Electricity

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will issue guidance to the National Grid on the factors to be taken into account in balancing the provision of  (a) Section 9 of and  (b) Schedule 9 to the Electricity Act 1989.

Charles Hendry: The network companies, including National Grid, are responsible for developing their networks in line with their licence obligations and, as part of the price control process, Ofgem considers the costs, and other factors such as need, for electricity networks based on investment proposals put forward by network companies in line with its statutory duties. In developing the transmission price control (RIIO-T1) for 2013-21 Ofgem is engaging with the Department and other stakeholders across a range of matters including what further guidance might be provided to help network companies (and stakeholders) consider the broader environmental costs and benefits of their potential investment decisions. Ofgem will set out its views in this area in its end-March 2011 RIIO-T1 strategy document.

Environment Protection: Metals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has had discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the effects of demand for rare earth metals on British firms developing green technologies.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), has not had discussions with Chinese counterparts on the effects of demand for rare earth metals on British firms developing green technologies.

Green Deal

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in each  (a) property type and  (b) region which will not qualify for Green Deal finance because they do not meet the golden rule.

Gregory Barker: Green Deal finance will support the installation of measures that can be expected to pay for themselves in energy bill savings over their lifetime and within the period of the finance arrangement.
	Whether a measure meets this golden rule will depend on the circumstances of the individual property, including what measures have already been installed. Failure to meet the golden rule is unlikely to be a wide-spread issue, but the precise nature of what Green Deal finance will cover will be subject to individual assessments.
	For vulnerable households where fuel bill savings are likely to be lower, and for properties which are more expensive to treat, the new Energy Company Obligation will work alongside Green Deal finance.

Hinkley C Connection Project

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with National Grid on the proposed Hinkley C Connection Project.

Charles Hendry: The arrangements for connection of individual power stations to the transmission network are a matter for project developers and National Grid. While the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), does meet regularly with National Grid to discuss general transmission issues, he has not had any recent discussions with National Grid specifically about the proposed Hinkley C project.

Metals: Wind Power

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the environmental effects of sourcing rare earth metals from China for use in wind farms; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the scope for using alternatives to rare earth metals in the manufacture of turbines for use in wind farms; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: We are aware of the recent concerns in the press relating to the availability of so-called rare earth metals from China and their potential use in magnets built into wind turbines.
	I understand that the use of rare earth metals is almost non-existent in commercial scale turbines in the UK (and only 4 to 5% of turbines worldwide) and that the demand for these metals is driven by a wide range of electronic and industrial applications including batteries, laptops and alloys for the aerospace industry.
	My officials are in regular contact with wind developers and turbine manufacturers as well as renewable trade associations and will continue to keep this issue under review.

Nuclear Power Stations

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to secure capacity at disposal facilities for low level waste streams arising from  (a) decommissioned nuclear facilities and  (b) the nuclear new build programme.

Charles Hendry: The management of Low Level Waste (LLW) focuses on the waste hierarchy, aiming to minimise the amount of LLW for disposal while making the best use of available disposal routes. Most LLW currently goes to the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) in Cumbria, some is disposed of at its point of arising and small amounts are also disposed of to some specific landfills.
	The UK Strategy for the Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the Nuclear Industry sets out the approach to the management of solid low level radioactive wastes arising from the nuclear industry, including those facilities undergoing decommissioning. The strategy is primarily aimed at nuclear industry waste producers, environmental regulators and waste planning bodies. The aim is to provide a framework within which management decisions can be taken flexibly to ensure safe, environmentally acceptable and cost-effective disposal management solutions that reflect the nature of the materials concerned. The Strategy conserves capacity at the LLWR and also considers the potential LLW arising from new nuclear power stations, as far as is possible at this time.

Nuclear Power: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the role of healthcare services in West Cumbria in the delivery of national nuclear policy.

Charles Hendry: There is a dedicated mechanism in place through the West Cumbria Strategic Forum to facilitate an appropriately joined up view across Government of policy decisions affecting West Cumbria, including those relating to healthcare.
	There are ongoing routine discussions between my officials and representatives of other Departments who participate in the forum, including the Department of Health.

Nuclear Waste

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will produce a draft National Policy Statement on nuclear waste infrastructure in addition to the revised draft National Policy Statements on energy infrastructure.

Charles Hendry: The draft Nuclear National Policy Statement covers on site waste management facilities that are part of the development of a new nuclear power station.
	In terms of higher activity radioactive waste disposal, Government are currently implementing a process to site a geological disposal facility:
	http://mrws.decc.gov.uk/
	While not having yet taken a final decision, Government are currently inclined to apply the major infrastructure planning system and if so will bring forward the necessary legislation and will produce a draft National Policy Statement.
	There are no plans to produce a draft National Policy Statement for low level radioactive waste (LLW) as there are currently no proposals for nationally significant infrastructure projects. LLW management focuses on the waste hierarchy, aiming to minimise the amount of LLW for disposal while making the best use of disposal routes. Most LLW currently goes to the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) in Cumbria, some is disposed of at its point of arising and small amounts are also disposed of to some specific landfills.

Nuclear Waste

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the proportion and quantity of low level waste at decommissioned nuclear facilities that cannot be reused, recycled, recovered or disposed on site and will be sent to landfill.

Charles Hendry: The 2007 Radioactive Waste Inventory is the latest public record of information on the sources, quantities and properties of radioactive waste in the UK at 1 April 2007 and records 236,000 cubic metres of Low Level Waste (LLW). A further 3,230,000 cubic metres is expected from existing facilities from now until the end of their life. The inventory has recently been assessed and an updated UK Radioactive Waste Inventory, will be published shortly by the NDA. The strategy for the Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the UK Nuclear Industry sets out how the waste hierarchy should be implemented in LLW management.
	Decommissioning LLW will only arise in large quantities as redundant facilities are demolished in the future. The management of this material will be continuously optimised as it arises, in line with the waste hierarchy. Most operational LLW currently goes to the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) in Cumbria, some is disposed of at its point of arising and small amounts are also disposed of to some specific landfills, approximately 14,000 cubic metres of LLW being sent to specified landfills in 2010. LLW Repository Ltd, the site licence company who operate the LLWR in Cumbria, is currently undertaking a review of the capacity of the Repository as part of the Environmental Safety Case process which, once complete in May 2011, will help determine the amount of low level waste that could be disposed of via this route.

Nuclear Waste

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether consented capacity for low level waste storage meets the existing inventory of low level waste at decommissioned nuclear power stations.

Charles Hendry: Most existing Low Level Waste (LLW) currently goes to the UK Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) in Cumbria, some is disposed of at its point of arising and small amounts are also disposed of to some specific landfills. Decommissioning LLW will only arise in large quantities as redundant facilities are demolished in the future.
	The LLWR recently opened a new vault (Vault 9) that, is currently licensed for storage, pending permissioning as a disposal facility, once the Environmental Safety Case has been approved by the Environment Agency (EA). Vault 9 together with developments at Dounreay is expected to provide the UK with sufficient LLW waste disposal capacity for at least 10 years. This vault alone will not accommodate all the anticipated future arisings of decommissioning LLW, so further extensions may be required. The life of Vault 9 (and indeed the LLWR overall), will be greatly extended through application of the waste hierarchy and recycling and reuse of suitable material. This approach is outlined in the UK Strategy for the Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the Nuclear Industry, published in August 2010. The Environmental Safety Case will determine what the ultimate capacity of the LLWR site could be.
	Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd are planning to construct disposal vaults adjacent to the site to ensure the safe, long-term management of 175,000 cubic metres of LLW arising from decommissioning of the site. Construction work will begin in autumn 2011 and, subject to regulatory consent, the facility is scheduled to operate from 2014 to 2025.

Nuclear Waste

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the capacity of permitted landfill sites for the storage of low level waste.

Charles Hendry: Existing low level waste (LLW) is managed and disposed of as it arises, with LLW management routes focused on the waste hierarchy; aiming to minimise the amount of LLW for disposal whilst making the best use of available disposal routes. Most LLW currently goes to the LLW Repository (LLWR) in Cumbria, some is disposed of at its point of arising and small amounts are also disposed of to some specific landfills.
	A number of landfill sites around the UK currently accept small disposals of very low level waste (VLLW) from hospitals and other non-nuclear industries. Only some of these sites are currently permitted to accept greater volumes of VLLW and LLW from the nuclear industry; the largest being Clifton Marsh in Lancashire. Clifton Marsh has been accepting waste for disposal since 1986, under authorisations held by the waste producers. The overall capacity of the site is around 9 million cubic metres, but only 10% of this will be LLW, with the remainder being everyday household and commercial waste.
	Some landfill sites are currently going through the process of seeking permission to accept LLW, in line with the UK Strategy for the Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the Nuclear Industry. This process requires the operator to obtain an Environmental Permit (in England and Wales) or a Radioactive Substances Authorisation (in Scotland) and relevant planning permission. Planning permission may or may not require amendment for an existing landfill site.

Radioactive Waste

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment  (a) he and  (b) consultants contracted by his Department have made of compliance with EU state aid rules of the support to commercial nuclear plant operators from the public purse; and how many representations he has received in the last six months on subsidy of the UK nuclear industry from the public purse.

Charles Hendry: The Government are always concerned to ensure that its policies and practices are compliant with EU law, including where relevant the state aid regime. For example, the Government will ensure that its approach to taking title to and liability for intermediate level waste and spent fuel, which is currently the subject of a public consultation, will be compliant with EU state aid rules.
	The Department regularly receives representations from various stakeholders about a wide range of issues. This has in the last six months included around 20 pieces of correspondence making representations or requesting clarification about the Government's policy that there will be no public subsidy for new nuclear power. Partly in light of these, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), made a written ministerial statement to Parliament on 18 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 42-46WS, setting out the policy in more detail.

Renewable Energy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will issue guidance to the National Grid on the quantitative and transparent determination of the environmental, economic and social costs of major electricity connection projects associated with the development of renewable energy generation projects.

Charles Hendry: It is for the Infrastructure Planning Commission to assess each electricity connection scheme across all types of generation projects on a case by case basis depending on its specific circumstances, as stated in the draft energy National Policy Statements. The Government intend to finalise and formally approve the energy National Policy Statements in spring 2011.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

Gregory Barker: I can confirm that the Department of Energy and Climate Change:
	 (a) has a policy to encourage its staff to volunteer
	 (b) has a policy which sets out the benefits of making charitable donations via payroll giving.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Child: Protection

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes identified as directly or indirectly related to gang activity were recorded in  (a) London,  (b) Nottinghamshire and  (c) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not collected through the police recorded crime statistics and is not available centrally.

Crime: Maps

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether hoax telephone calls are recorded as incidents of antisocial behaviour for the purposes of categorisation on the online crime map;
	(2)  whether her Department plans to refine the display of crime statistics on the online crime map; and with what frequency she expects information on the map to be updated;
	(3)  what the cost to the public purse was of producing the crime mapping website;
	(4)  what account her Department took of the effect on  (a) local residents,  (b) house prices,  (c) levels of awareness of crime and  (d) levels of community cohesion of the publication of online crime maps; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  what assessment she has made of the accuracy of statistics published on the crime mapping website.

James Brokenshire: Greater transparency is at the heart of our commitment to open up Government to greater scrutiny and allow the public to hold local services to account.
	This is why, for the first time ever, the Government have provided communities across England and Wales with access to monthly street level crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB) data alongside key information on neighbourhood policing.
	Hoax telephone calls to the emergency services are expected to be shown on
	www.Police.uk
	as incidents of ASB. All crime and ASB data are provided by individual police forces. Forces are therefore responsible for the accuracy of the data and we will continue to work with them to review and update the information provided.
	The Government have ensured that development costs have been minimised. Implementing crime mapping cost approximately £300,000 and drew on research involving over 7,000 people who were asked their views on local crime information, including crime maps. We continue to seek the views of the public through the feedback facility on the website.
	Through the provision of street level crime and ASB data the Government are giving communities the information they need to be able to hold their local police to account. Since its launch, Police.uk has received almost 400 million hits demonstrating the significant public appetite for this information.

Missing Persons

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to establish an inter-departmental ministerial group on missing persons to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Missing Persons Taskforce.

James Brokenshire: I am continuing to assess the recommendations of the Missing Persons Taskforce. I have met with ministerial colleagues from the Department for Education and the Department of Health as part of this work.
	The need to improve the response to missing persons is important to the Government. I have established a senior officials group to advise Ministers on the priorities for missing persons services arising from the Taskforce recommendations.

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of neighbourhood watch schemes that are in operation.

James Brokenshire: There are no centrally held figures to show the number of Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) schemes. The Insurance Company which provides public liability insurance to registered Neighbourhood Watch schemes reports that 121,000 NHW coordinators registered for the insurance in 2010-11, providing cover for around 7.6 million households.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Food

William Bain: To ask the Attorney-General when he expects the Law Officers' Departments to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Treasury Solicitor's Department are the only Law Officers Departments which provide catering services to staff.
	Neither Department sources or procures food directly. This task is undertaken by contracted catering service providers. All such suppliers are required to adhere to current laws and regulations relating to the procurement of food and continue to maintain a commitment to the Government Buying Standards for food and catering services.
	The Government Buying Standards are mandatory for central Government and their Executive agencies. They require central Government to source food, subject to no overall increase in costs, meeting UK or equivalent standards of production.

Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Attorney-General if he will take steps to ensure that the Law Officers' Departments' published organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the agencies for which he is responsible.

Dominic Grieve: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold Departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Prisoners: Crimes of Violence

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions the Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to progress with a case of assault by an offender whilst in custody due to it not being in the public interest in each of the last 10 years.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is not recorded centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Law Officers' Departments have a policy to encourage employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

Dominic Grieve: With the exception of the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate the Law Officers Departments have policies in place to allow staff to engage in a range of voluntary activities, and actively encourages staff to do so. This includes special leave for voluntary activities where appropriate.
	The Attorney-General's Office, Crown Prosecution Service and Treasury Solicitor's Department also facilitate payroll giving by employees.

TRANSPORT

A19

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects of the A19 on economic growth and employment in the North East.

Michael Penning: As part of the spending review, we have assessed the effects of all forthcoming transport improvements. Some tough decisions had to be made on which schemes were prioritised. As part of that review the public value for money of every scheme was considered. In the case of the A19 we concluded that the schemes at Testos and Coast Road would remain in the programme for future delivery. While we have had to prioritise spending, we have continued transport investment in the North East, including the £350 million upgrade of the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Agility Trains for the Intercity Express Programme

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of the reimbursement agreements his Department reached with Agility Trains for the Intercity Express Programme after 12 February 2009; and what the total monetary value is of reimbursement payments made to the consortium under such agreements to date.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 2 March 2011
	 There are no reimbursement agreements with Agility Trains for the Intercity Express Programme, and so the value of reimbursement payments to date is zero.

Bus Services: Concessions

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the change in the cost to the public purse of concessionary bus fares arising from changes to eligibility in the next four financial year.

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to page 15 of the Explanatory Memorandum to The Travel Concessions (Eligibility) England Order 2010 No. 459 which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/459/pdfs/uksiem _20100459_en.pdf
	.

Crossrail Line: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department plans to spend on Crossrail under each cost category in each financial year until the end of the project.

Theresa Villiers: For the Secretary of State's capital grant to Crossrail during the Spending Review Period I refer the Hon. Member to my answer given on 10 November 2010,  Official Report, column 332W.
	A further £800 million capital grant will be required outside of the Spending Review period to complete the Secretary of State's agreed grant to Crossrail.
	The Secretary of State expects to receive contributions towards meeting his agreed grant from BAA and the City of London.

Departmental Interpreters

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for which services provided by  (a) his Department and  (b) its associated public bodies interpreters provide services in a language or languages other than English; how many interpreters are employed or subcontracted for each non-English language; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of interpretation costs incurred in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) actual and  (b) full-time equivalent staff his Department employed at the latest date for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The Central Department and its seven executive Agencies identified the following number of (a) actual and (b) full-time equivalent staff employed as at 31/01/11. The total includes both permanent and non-permanent employees. The data is from the Department's Management Information.
	(a) The number of actual staff employed as at 31 January 2011 is 18,753 (1,895 of which were employed in the Central Department).
	(b) The number of full-time equivalent staff employed as at 31 January 2011 is 17,713 (1,849 of which were employed in the Central Department).
	The Department is undergoing organisational restructuring to contribute to the Spending Review commitment of a 33% reduction in administration budget (composed of pay and non-pay costs) during the spending review period.

McNulty Rail Value for Money Study

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by L.E.K. Consulting, on the options for future reform to the structure of Network Rail, commissioned by the McNulty Rail Value for Money study.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 2 March 2011
	The report is still in draft form and may contain confidential information. The final report will be published, alongside the McNulty report itself, later in the spring.

Network Rail: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projects over what time periods will be funded from the £14 billion funding allocation to Network Rail for capital maintenance and infrastructure.

Theresa Villiers: The latest update of the information requested will be set out in the 2011 version of Network Rail's Delivery Plan for Control Period 4 (1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014). This is due to be published shortly.

Oil: Fuel Quality Directive

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on proposals for inclusion of a default value for tar sands in the Fuel Quality Directive.

Norman Baker: holding answer 2 March 2011
	 The European Commission is currently assessing options for a methodology to account for the greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuels for use in reporting overall progress against the Fuel Quality Directive's greenhouse gas targets.
	While several options have been explored with member states and stakeholders, the European Commission has yet to come forward with firm proposals for an accounting methodology, or for other necessary implementing measures.
	We believe that any methodology should account for greenhouse gas emissions from all crude sources, including tar sands, and that such a methodology should be based on robust and objective data, and should treat all crude sources equitably. I have personally written to the Commissioner for Climate Action urging her to investigate whether sufficient data is available to enable a detailed fossil fuel greenhouse gas accounting methodology to be developed and encouraging the European Commission to work more openly with member states and other stakeholders.

Pedestrian Crossings

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of new signal-controlled pedestrian crossings installed in the last three years were  (a) pelican,  (b) puffin,  (c) toucan and  (d) other forms of signal-controlled pedestrian crossings.

Norman Baker: All decisions to install or alter pedestrian crossing facilities are taken at local level and the Department does not hold information regarding numbers or types of crossing installed by local authorities.

Pedestrian Crossings

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pelican crossings have been replaced by puffin crossings in the last 10 years.

Norman Baker: I am afraid that the Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of pelican crossings which have been replaced by puffin crossings in the last 10 years. This information is held by individual local authorities.

Public Transport: Disability

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to ensure that all forms of public transport are accessible equally to sighted and to visually-impaired passengers.

Norman Baker: The Department is committed to ensuring equal, and safe, access to public transport for everyone, including for disabled people.
	The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Requirements 2000 (as amended) and the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998 (as amended) contain a number of requirements to facilitate access for people with visual impairments. These include audible door signals and colour contrasting of features, such as handrails and steps, intended to help visually-impaired people when physically negotiating public transport vehicles.
	Audio-visual passenger information systems can be a key source of information to many disabled passengers. The regulations require such systems on trains. On buses, however, the levels of provision vary. I do not at this point intend to legislate to make audio-visual systems on buses mandatory, but will write to operators and manufacturers encouraging them to work in partnership with Local Authorities to increase the uptake of these systems.
	The Department is monitoring progress to ensure vehicles meet accessibility standards by set target dates-the latest of which is 2020.
	A large number of stations being funded from the Department's Access for All programme will have accessibility improvements which will have direct benefits to visually impaired passengers.
	For those who are not confident using public transport, the Department champions increased levels of travel training , and is aiming to produce a website of good practice this spring.
	In addition, on 1 October 2010, we commenced provisions in the Equality Act 2010 that require the drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles to carry assistance dogs. These provisions replicate the effect of, and replace, provisions originally contained in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Railway Stations: Travel Information

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the frequency of public service announcements at rail stations is regulated by his Department.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport does not regulate the frequency of public service announcements at rail stations. This is an operational matter for train operators, and Network Rail. There is a requirement for public security announcements to be made at rail stations as part of our National Rail Security Programme.

Railways: Concessions

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of  (a) current employees,  (b) former employees and (c) board members of Network Rail who receive free travel.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 17 January 2011
	 The Department for Transport does not hold any information on the number of current employees, former employees and board members of Network Rail who receive free travel.

Railways: Fares

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what revenue from rail fares accrued to  (a) each train operating company and  (b) his Department in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much he expects to accrue to each in the next four financial years.

Theresa Villiers: The Office of Rail Regulation publishes revenue figures for the GB rail industry including breakdowns by sectors in National Rail Trends (NRT). This is available on the Office of Rail Regulation website
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk.
	Revenue figures for individual train operating companies are commercially confidential.
	During franchise competitions bidders produce revenue forecasts for individual lines of route. The Department for Transport does not publish franchise-specific revenue forecasts; however, the latest published forecast of total passenger kilometres broken down by sector is available in 'Delivering a Sustainable Railway' (July 2007) on the Department's website:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/whitepapercm7176/
	.

Railways: Snow and Ice

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2011,  Official Report, column 350W, on railways: snow and ice, what the outcome was of the discussions on the issue of stranded trains with senior representatives of the train operators and Network Rail; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The independent audit by David Quarmby CBE, published on 21 December 2010, highlighted examples of stranded trains in conditions of snow that was so deep that emergency rescue was difficult to organise in short timescales. The rail industry National Task Force (NTF) has confirmed that the issue of stranded trains would be investigated again by the Association of Train Operating Companies and the relevant operators.
	The rail industry's work on lessons learned on winter resilience issues is still underway, and I will continue to monitor progress of this work through my regular meetings with senior rail industry representatives.

Shipping

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the benefit to the local economy of the designation of an area off the coast of East Anglia as an approved location for the ship-to-ship transfer of oil;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of potential  (a) changes in the level of shipping traffic off the coast of East Anglia and  (b) risks of collisions between vessels arising from implementation of its decision on permitted locations for the ship-to-ship transfer of oil off the east coast;
	(3)  what regulations govern the  (a) conditions and  (b) safety procedures for vessels undertaking ship-to-ship transfers of oil in UK waters;
	(4)  what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the relationship between levels of shipping traffic in UK coastal waters and incidences of collisions between vessels.

Michael Penning: holding answer 2 March 2011
	It is our intention that the area off the Suffolk coast where ship-to-ship transfers are monitored by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under existing arrangements will be formally recognised as the 'permit area' for ship-to-ship transfers in forthcoming secondary legislation. This area off Suffolk has, for several years now, been the only location in UK jurisdiction where the MCA allows ship-to-ship transfers (other than those in a harbour authority area) to be carried out. These waters are recognised by the MCA and by the industry as a suitable area for carrying out ship-to-ship transfers on navigational safety grounds.
	Consequently:
	as the activity will take place in the same waters as at present, we anticipate that the same benefit to the local economy, which is currently experienced in that part of East Anglia, will continue and we do not anticipate any significant change in the level of shipping traffic off the coast of East Anglia;
	while we are aware of the risks of collisions involving a ship on its way to, engaged in or on its way from a ship-to-ship transfer operation, we do not anticipate that the formal recognition in the legislation that these are the waters where ship-to-ship transfers are allowed will increase that risk;
	whereas currently there are no regulations in force governing ship-to-ship transfers, and the MCA's application system, instructions and guidelines function without the backing of legal sanctions, under the forthcoming secondary legislation the MCA will have legal sanctions to ensure that ship-to-ship transfers are conducted to a high standard with regard to maritime safety and the protection of the marine and coastal environment;
	the MCA monitors ship-to-ship transfer activity in the waters off the Suffolk coast, and is consequently aware of the relationship between levels of shipping traffic in these waters and incidences of collisions between vessels. We are also aware of the data contained in the Marine Accident Investigation Branch's report on the collision between mt Saetta and mt Conger published in 2010.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Disability Living Allowance: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 681-82W, on disability living allowance: Scotland, if he will introduce systems to estimate  (a) the number of recipients of disability living allowance in (i) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (ii) Scotland who will be reassessed in each of the next five years, and  (b) the cost to the public purse.

Maria Miller: We will replace disability living allowance for people of working age with personal independence payment, a new, more transparent and sustainable benefit with an objective assessment of individual need. From 2013 we will begin reassessing all existing working-age disability living allowance caseload and transferring people to personal independence payment where appropriate. We are continuing to work on the design of personal independence payment and the new assessment, which we are developing in collaboration with a group of independent specialists in health, disability and social care, including disabled people.
	The detailed approach for migrating the current disability living allowance working age caseload to the new personal independent payment has yet to be designed and therefore the numbers to be migrated each year and the costs, have yet to be established.

Disability: Cost of Living

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider implementing the recommendations of the recent Scope/Demos report on additional costs faced by disabled people.

Maria Miller: We have read the Scope/Demos research report "Counting the Cost", and have met Scope to discuss its findings. We know that disabled people face additional costs to leading full and active lives. The personal independence payment will continue to provide a contribution towards these costs.
	The consultation on DLA reform closed on 18 February 2011 and the Government plan to publish their response in the spring,

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in each region to be affected by the limit on housing benefit for under-occupants in the social sector are under-occupying a property by  (a) one and  (b) two or more bedrooms.

Steve Webb: The estimated impact of changes to housing benefit for working-age tenants living in the social rented sector is based upon information collected in the Department's Family Resources Survey. Because the survey collects information from a sample of households, we cannot produce reliable estimates for the number of claimants affected by both region and by the degree of their under-occupation.
	In February 2011 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) produced an impact assessment entitled "Under-occupation of social housing", coinciding with the publication of the Welfare Reform Bill. The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
	The impact assessment included regional estimates for working age housing benefit recipients living in social housing, under-occupying their home and who were likely to be affected by the introduction of the size criteria in social-rented housing.
	
		
			  Government Office Region  Estimated number of claimants affected  Affected claimants as % of working-age SRS HB claimants In each region  Average weekly HB loss per affected claimant (2013-14) (£) 
			 North East 50,000 46 12 
			 North West 120,000 43 12 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 70,000 36 11 
			 East Midlands 50,000 37 11 
			 West Midlands 60,000 33 14 
			 Eastern 60,000 36 14 
			 London 70,000 19 21 
			 South East 50,000 26 15 
			 South West 30,000 28 13 
			 Wales 40,000 42 11 
			 Scotland 70,000 32 11 
			 Great Britain 670,000 32 13 
			  Source: Policy Simulation Model, using 2008-09 reference data from the Family Resource Survey 
		
	
	The impact assessment also included a national estimate of the extent to which affected claimants were under-occupying their accommodation.
	
		
			  Under occupation of accommodation by  Estimated number of  affected claimants  Percentage of affected claimants  Average weekly housing benefit loss per affected claimant  (2013-14) (£) 
			 One bedroom 530,000 78 11 
			 Two or more bedrooms 150,000 22 20 
			 All bedrooms (1)670,000 100 13 
			 (1) Total numbers do not sum because of independent rounding.  Source: Policy Simulation Model, using 2008-09 reference data from the Family Resource Survey. 
		
	
	On a national basis we estimate that approximately 78% of affected working age claimants would be under occupying their accommodation by one bedroom, and 22% would be under occupying accommodation by two or more bedrooms.
	Any further break-down of the estimated impact of the degree of under occupation by region would be based upon information from a very small number of households for many of these combinations. This means that the figures would be likely to be unreliable.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the consistency between the definition of under-occupancy to be applied by his Department when determining housing benefit entitlement and the occupancy provisions of local authority and registered social landlord lettings policies.

Steve Webb: The provision to limit housing benefit payments for those of working age living in, social rented sector accommodation that is larger than their household requires will take effect from April 2013. To determine this we shall be using the size criteria that are currently used for this purpose of assessing housing benefit claims from the private rented sector. We are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Devolved Administrations and representatives from the housing sector as we develop the policy so that we can consider the practical implications.

Universal Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the monetary value in 2010-11 prices of support for childcare costs provided to those claiming universal credit at the point at which universal credit is introduced.

Chris Grayling: We intend to match the same total amount of support as currently provided for child care costs when universal credit is fully rolled out.

Universal Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the maximum marginal rate of withdrawal under universal credit will be for parents in receipt of assistance with childcare costs for  (a) all claimants,  (b) those previously in receipt of tax credits and  (c) those claimants who also pay income tax.

Chris Grayling: The Government outlined a number of possible approaches for how they could provide support with the costs of child care in the White Paper 'Universal Credit: welfare that Works (Cm 7957)' and has been working with stakeholders to establish which options would best support parents. We will announce further details in the coming months, but the options we have discussed would not change the maximum marginal rate of withdrawal of universal credit.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent in Afghanistan through  (a) the World Bank Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund,  (b) other multilateral institutions,  (c) the Afghan government and  (d) non-governmental organisations in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Mitchell: In 2009-10, the Department for International Development's (DFID's) bilateral programme in Afghanistan provided £60.3 million through the World Bank's Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF); £8.5 million through other multilateral institutions; £14.4 million through Afghan Government systems in addition to ARTF spending; and £21.2 million through non-government organisations (NGOs).
	DFID funds are also spent in Afghanistan through central funding to multilateral agencies and international NGOs. The UK's imputed share of expenditure by multilateral institutions in Afghanistan in 2009-10 will be published in "Statistics on International Development" in October. In 2008-09 this figure was £25.2 million. It is not possible to calculate the amount of UK aid spent in Afghanistan through our central funding to NGOs without incurring disproportionate cost.

Africa: Agriculture

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has made an assessment of the potential contribution of smallholder farms to food security in Africa.

Stephen O'Brien: The Government recognises the significant contribution that smallholder farm production can make to improving food security in Africa. We draw on assessments by international agencies such as the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and African regional organisations in planning how our interventions should address food security needs. For example, in Ethiopia, a DFID co-funded programme ensures that 8 million smallholders previously dependent on emergency aid are now food sufficient and can maintain their livelihoods. The Government is a strong supporter of Africa's own initiative, the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The Programme's goal is to contribute to the elimination of hunger and reduce poverty and many of its activities involve helping smallholder farmers, both directly to help increase their productivity, and indirectly for example by improving their access to markets.

Departmental Manpower

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what senior civil service staff moves have taken place in his Department since May 2010; and which staff at what grade were involved in such moves.

Andrew Mitchell: Since May 2010 twenty four Senior Civil Service staff moves have taken place in the Department for International Development (DFID). 17 of the moves were at Deputy Director level and seven of the moves were at Director level.

Departmental Manpower

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) actual and  (b) full-time equivalent staff his Department employed at the latest date for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: The number of actual and full-time equivalent staff employed by the Department for International Development (DFID), as at 31 January 2011, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Actual  Full-time equivalent 
			 UK Home Civil Servants 1,767 1705.6 
			 Staff Appointed in Country (staff engaged locally overseas on local terms and conditions to support our development activities overseas) 770 767.7 
			 Total 2,537 2473.3

Departmental Manpower

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible.

Andrew Mitchell: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Departmental Official Cars

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Ministerial cars his Department has used since May 2010.

Alan Duncan: On taking up office all three Department for International Development (DFID) Ministers were given the use of a dedicated Government Car Service (GCS) car and driver. Following the publication of the 2010 Ministerial Code in May Minsters agreed that only Cabinet Ministers would have the use of their own car, and that all other Government Minsters should use a car from the GCS pool. DFID immediately took steps to terminate our existing GCS contract, which contained a three month notice period. From 4 September 2010 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I have used a car from the GCS pool, and the Secretary of State has used a dedicated GCS car and driver.

Departmental Redundancy

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the cost of redundancy accruing to his Department in each of the next five financial years.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) is in the process of working through the exact implications of the full Spending Review 2010 settlement. It is, therefore, not possible to estimate redundancy costs for each of the next five financial years.

Departmental Redundancy

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provision was made for meeting the costs of redundancies in his Department's Spending Review 2010 settlement letter.

Andrew Mitchell: All pressures on the Department for International Development's (DFID's) budget were taken into account as part of the Spending Review and the settlement allocated accordingly. The full costs of redundancies will be met from within DFID's Spending Review resource DEL settlement.

Departmental Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reasons persons not employed by Government departments or agencies are issued with passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises.

Alan Duncan: Passes may be issued to individuals where there is an identified business need for them to make frequent visits to Department for International Development (DFID) premises, subject to the usual security checks. For security reasons it would not be appropriate to provide details of individuals who hold such passes.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff of his Department are employed on fixed-term contracts; and what their job titles are.

Andrew Mitchell: As at 31 January 2011, the Department for International Development (DFID) employs 26 fixed-term staff in the following roles.
	
		
			  Job title  Number of staff 
			 Administrator 11 
			 Adviser 4 
			 Director 1 
			 Executive Assistant 1 
			 Governance Adviser 1 
			 Head of Department 2 
			 Head of Profession 2 
			 Health Adviser 1 
			 Senior Governance Adviser 1 
			 Social Development Adviser 1 
			 Statistics Adviser 1 
			 Total 26 
		
	
	No new fixed-term contracts have been issued since May 2010 except for business critical roles.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the most recent previous employment was of senior staff who entered employment with his Department on fixed-term contracts since May 2010.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no Senior Civil Servants who entered employment on fixed term contracts since May 2010.

Food: Procurement

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects his Department to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

Alan Duncan: Mitie Facilities Management provide the catering services for both the Department for International Development's (DFID's) offices in London and East Kilbride as part of a three year facilities management and catering contract which commenced on 1st January 2011. Mitie are continually working with their suppliers to highlight the products which fall under the British standard or equivalent category.
	Mitie currently supplies DFID with 36% of their products which are assured to meet British or equivalent standards, as a percentage of their total food spend. They are currently working towards having our entire milk spend under the Red Tractor food assurance scheme (currently 80%) and to have all eggs British Lion marked.

Libya: Asylum

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation of refugees from Libya.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Libya itself and at the borders. UK humanitarian and stabilisation staff have been sent to the Libyan borders with Egypt and Tunisia to assess and monitor the humanitarian situation on the ground. We are also in close and constant contact with international organisations and other humanitarian response agencies to monitor the situation and respond to it as it evolves. I have spoken personally to the heads of a number of agencies to discuss the situation and the international response, including: the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Chairman of the African Union, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, USAID, the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Islamic Relief and Save the Children.

Libya: Overseas Aid

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian assistance he plans to provide to Libya in response to the recent unrest in that country.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Libya itself and at the borders. UK humanitarian and stabilisation staff have been sent to the Libyan borders with Egypt and Tunisia to assess the humanitarian situation and coordinate with other agencies on the ground. On 1 March DFID flew in 36,000 blankets and tents to shelter 1,500 people to the Tunisia border at the request of the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR). The UK Government has also provided three planes on rotation to repatriate several thousand people stranded at the Tunisian/Libyan border. At 10:30 on 4 March, 3,135 people had been flown on UK funded aircraft from the Tunisia border with Libya to Egypt. We are also working closely with non-governmental organisations and other international organisations such as UNHCR and International Organization for Migration (IOM). We are proactively monitoring the evolving situation through our field teams on the ground and partner agencies and I am visiting the region for myself to make my own assessment. We stand ready to provide resources to prevent this becoming a more severe humanitarian crisis.

Overseas Aid: Education

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to raise the external financing required for the Education for All Fast Track initiative.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) announced in March 2010 that we would make up to £100 million available to the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI), conditional on pledges from other donors at a ratio of 5:1. Under this arrangement DFID will release £1 of our pledge for every £5 that FTI raises from elsewhere. We have worked closely with other donors to promote this pledge, which has already helped FTI to raise around £150 million from others.
	Ahead of FTI's planned replenishment later this year, we will continue to work closely with other donors and FTI to strongly encourage predictable, multi-year commitments.

Overseas Aid: Education

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to support the replenishment of the Education for All Fast Track initiative to deliver sustainable funding for education in low-income countries.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed up to £100 million to the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI), conditional on pledges from other donors at a ratio of 5:1. Under this arrangement DFID will release £1 of our pledge for every £5 that FTI raises from elsewhere. We have worked closely with other donors to promote this pledge, which has already helped FTI to raise around £150 million from others.
	Ahead of FTI's planned replenishment later this year, we will continue to work closely with other donors and FTI to strongly encourage predictable, multi-year commitments.
	The level of future UK funding for FTI will be agreed prior to the replenishment event and will reflect the outcome of the Multilateral Aid Review assessments, published on 1 March.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Abyei region of Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK remains concerned about the humanitarian situation in the disputed border region of Abyei. This is an already underdeveloped area, and the United Nations' Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that between October 2010 and mid-February 2011, 37,727 registered returnees have arrived in Abyei, Through our contribution to the emergency reserve of the UN-managed Common Humanitarian Fund, the UK has supported the delivery of a basic three month package of shelter and non-food items to people in Abyei and in Southern Sudan who have decided to migrate from North to South Sudan because of the referendum on Southern secession.
	We also continue to support President Mbeki's efforts to negotiate agreement on the status of Abyei and urge all parties to reach a resolution within the framework of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department are participating in volunteering activities as part of his Department's involvement in the Big Society initiative.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has long recognised the value of volunteering and the vital contribution made by volunteers to development, and to local communities and charities. DFID currently supports VSO, the UK's leading volunteering agency, with a strategic grant worth £89 million (2008-2011). This is currently being renewed for a further three years. DFID's ministerial team is strongly committed to the Big Society initiative and the coalition Government is setting up International Citizens Service. This is a volunteering scheme, to give thousands of young adults across the UK the opportunity to travel to developing countries to join the fight against poverty.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Correspondence

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to respond to the letter of 24 January 2011 from Elizabeth Cooke Szewczyke, a constituent of the hon. Member for Tottenham.

Bob Neill: A reply was sent to Elizabeth Cooke Szewczyke on 28 February 2011.

Legal Opinion

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 52W, on legal opinion, if he will place in the Library a copy of the purchase ledger; in respect of how many cases expenditure on legal fees was incurred; what proportion of the expenditure on legal fees was allocated to advice in respect of potential defamation cases since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: holding answer 10 January 2011
	A copy of the purchasing records pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 52W has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	A further breakdown of the details of expenditure on legal fees could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	It is a long-standing practice across government that departments do not disclose their legal advice, or sometimes even comment on whether it was taken on a particular subject (if to do so would reveal privileged information). Disclosure of advice, even of the gist of advice, would break the long-established confidentiality that exists between the department and its legal advisers.
	This is based on the well established principles of Legal Professional Privilege and also ensures that departments can rely on that privilege should there be any subsequent proceedings. The previous administration continued this practice following the Freedom of Information Act and the principles have been upheld in case-law by the Information Commissioner and the Information Tribunal.
	Notwithstanding, I wish to use this opportunity to put on record a short comment, pursuant to my answer to the hon. Member of 4 November 2010,  Official Report, column 937W, no expenditure has been undertaken on legal fees on potential defamation cases relating in any way to that whole topic.

Local Government: Redundancy Pay

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information he holds on the level of provision made by local authorities from the transitional grants for redundancy payments.

Bob Neill: Work force redundancy decisions and payments in local government are a matter for individual local council employers within discretionary powers provided by the Local Government (Early Termination of Employment) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006. Information is not collected centrally about discretionary payments made by local authorities under these provisions.

Regeneration: Newcastle upon Tyne

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2011,  Official Report, column 835W, on regeneration: Newcastle upon Tyne, when he expects to receive the Homes and Communities Agency's financial and technical assessment of the proposals for the Byker estate.

Grant Shapps: The Homes and Communities Agency has provided a financial assessment of the Byker transfer proposals to the Department for consideration. The Homes and Community Agency is continuing its detailed technical assessment of the Byker transfer proposals. This will include an appraisal of the offer document that will be presented to tenants. We expect to receive the technical assessment in due course.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what countries have provided direct heavy lift and transport support to British forces in Afghanistan.

Peter Luff: It is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost. UK Forces operate in Afghanistan as part of a wider NATO effort and assets are assigned based on task not nationality. Accordingly, the UK will routinely make use of other nations' assets and vice versa. However, since December 2010, this has included UK troops in theatre utilising heavy lift assets including aircraft, trucks and cranes belonging to Denmark, Slovakia and the United States.

Air Force: Redundancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has put in place to assist those who are to be made redundant from the RAF as part of the redundancy programme announced on 1 March 2011 in their transition to civilian life.

Andrew Robathan: All Service personnel selected for redundancy will qualify for resettlement support from the RAF, as if they had completed their commission or engagement. This includes a resettlement grant and training to enhance skills and gain qualifications to improve employment opportunities.
	Details of RAF personnel selected for redundancy under Tranche one of the RAF Redundancy Programme will not be known until 1 September 2011.

Air Force: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will assess the merits of providing support to allow Royal Air Force trainee pilots who lose their commissions as a result of reductions in public expenditure to become commercial airline pilots; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when his Department took the decision to end the commissions of 100 Royal Air Force trainee pilots; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what support he plans to provide to Royal Air Force trainee pilots who lose their commissions as a result of reductions in public expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: As part of the strategic defence and security review, it was announced that there would be a reduction in the number of airframes the RAF would be operating in future. This included the early withdrawal from service of the Harrier fleet, a reduction in the number of Tornado aircraft and the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4. As a result of these decisions, the RAF's requirement for future trained pilots has now reduced. In addition, there has been a reassessment of the required number of helicopter pilots due to there being fewer service leavers and the limited capacity of operational conversion units.
	Accordingly, RAF trainee pilots were informed on 15 February 2011 of a decision to remove up to 170 student RAF pilots from the flying training pipeline. They are currently being briefed on the personal implications in one-to-one discussions. Those RAF trainee pilots who are removed from the flying training pipeline will be considered for potential re-selection for other ground based appointments. Those that are not successful will be put forward for redundancy and will receive support from the RAF by way of resettlement packages.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of minimum payment guarantees for each independent treatment centre in each year since 2003.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence does not make minimum payment guarantees to independent treatment centres and therefore does not incur this cost.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of medical operations on armed services personnel performed by each independent treatment centre in each year since 2003.

Andrew Robathan: Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTC) are free-standing surgical units which focus mainly on providing services for NHS patients.
	There can be circumstances where a requirement exists to 'fast-track' the provision of care for service personnel so that they can be returned to fitness for task as quickly as possible, particularly in orthopaedic care for certain conditions.
	This is achieved through a network of secondary care providers which includes NHS Trusts and the independent sector through individual Ministry of Defence contracts with these providers, which are completely separate to the NHS contractual relationships with ISTCs. As the MOD does not contract directly with ISTCs, it does not incur costs of this nature for medical operations on service personnel.

Armed Forces: Housing

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many new  (a) beds and  (b) mattresses were purchased for use by each member of the armed forces in each of the last three years; and what the cost was of such purchases in each such year;
	(2)  what the average cost of providing a  (a) bed and  (b) mattress was for each member of the armed forces (i) based in Britain, (ii) serving in Afghanistan and (iii) serving in another country in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how long a  (a) bed and  (b) mattress is issued for use by members of the armed forces before it is due to be replaced.

Andrew Robathan: There is no business requirement to hold centrally details of the numbers and costs of beds and mattresses used by each member of the armed forces, or to monitor where they are located; this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, details of all new beds and mattresses purchased for use by the armed forces in the UK, Afghanistan and other overseas locations, as well as those not yet issued for use, are contained in the following table:
	
		
			   FY 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  Beds (for  a rmed  f orces in the UK, Afghanistan and other overseas locations)
			 Number purchased 9,588 13,543 13,103 
			 Costs (excl VAT) (£ million) 1.98 2.21 1.52 
			 Average cost (£)   116.01 
			 
			  Mattresses(for Armed Forces in the UK, Afghanistan and other overseas locations)
			 Number purchased 41,888 61,716 45,198 
			 Costs (excl VAT) (£ million) 1.83 1.95 2.46 
			 Average cost (£)   54.43 
		
	
	There is no specific time period for replacing used bed frames and mattresses as this will depend on the level of wear and tear.

Armed Forces: Housing

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what proportion of service family accommodation he expects energy efficiency measures to be installed through the Green Deal.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is committed to improving the energy efficiency of all its property holdings, and is currently monitoring the consultation process in order to establish how the Green Deal may apply to service family accommodation.

Defence: Finance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for spending by his Department in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15 on  (a) sensors and  (b) nanotechnology.

Peter Luff: The strategic defence and security review made clear that we will continue the most essential investment in science and technology, which will include focusing investment on developing capabilities in key areas, such as, sensors and nanotechnology. The Ministry of Defence is in the process of completing its annual planning round which will allocate programme budgets. This is expected to conclude in spring 2011, but as I have said previously in the answer I gave on 8 November 2010,  Official Report, column 14, to the right hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Mr Arbuthnot) we expect the science and technology budget to rise slightly in cash terms over the comprehensive spending review period.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of his Department's adherence to each of the principles of good employment practice set out in the Cabinet Office publication Principles of Good Employment Practice.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry Of Defence (MOD) informed its acquisition and human resource staff of the announcement of the introduction of the Principles of Good Employment Practice in December 2010. Since the beginning of the New Year, the Department has focused attention on implementing those principles most relevant to its role as a commissioner for service provision. It is too early to judge the adherence to each of the principles. It is intended that the Public Services Forum (PSF) assess the impact of these principles on good employment practices in the delivery of contracted out services in January 2012. The MOD will assist the Cabinet Office and PSF with that review.

Departmental Food

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects his Department to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has two primary contracts for feeding service personnel; the first is a pay as you dine/catering retail and leisure (PAYD/CRL) arrangement covering most armed forces personnel 'in barracks'. The second is a single food supply contract (FSC) for armed forces personnel serving on operations, exercises, submarines and ships worldwide as well as the remainder of armed forces personnel 'in barracks'. All food purchased under these arrangements already meets or exceeds EU quality standards.
	The MOD is in regular contact with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on food production standards and has provided comments as part of the consultation phase on the proposed Government Buying Standards (GBS) for food and catering. I can confirm that the MOD is committed to supporting the coalition agreement on introducing GBS for food and catering within the constraints of EU procurement directives, operational feeding requirements and ensuring the product is fit for purpose.

HMS Victory

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to retain sovereign immunity for the wreck of HMS Victory 1744.

Andrew Robathan: State vessels such as HMS VICTORY 1744 continue to enjoy sovereign immunity after sinking, unless the flag State has expressly relinquished its rights. Her Majesty's Government has not done so.
	Plans for the future management of the wreck have been subject to public consultation; the report prepared by the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will be published shortly.

Military Aircraft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many missions involving  (a) Harrier and  (b) Tornado aircraft have been flown in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the cost was of ground support crew for the  (a) Harrier and  (b) Tornado aircraft fleet in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many crashes there have been involving  (a) Harrier and  (b) Tornado aircraft in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many and what proportion of missions have been cancelled as a result of mechanical or software failure of  (a) Harrier and  (b) Tornado aircraft in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 December 2010,  Official Report, column 989W, to the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis).
	The total number of sorties flown by Harrier GR7/9 aircraft for financial year 2006-07 to financial year 2010-11 (to out of service date) is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial Year  Harrier GR7/9 t otal sorties flown 
			 2006-07 7,963 
			 2007-08 6,978 
			 2008-09 6,800 
			 2009-10 5,968 
			 2010-11 to 15 December 2010 3,431 
		
	
	The total number of sorties flown in each of the last five years involving Tornado GR4 and Tornado F3 aircraft is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We do however hold the total number of flying hours flown by each fleet for financial year 2006-07 to financial year 2010-11 (to end February 2011). These are contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial Year  Tornado QR4 total flying hours  Tornado F3 total flying hours 
			 2006-07 31,102 15,593 
			 2007-08 27,315 12,810 
			 2008-09 22,249 7,334 
			 2009-10 22,235 2,831 
			 2010-11 (to end February 2011) 22,912 2,041 
		
	
	An average sortie length for Tornado GR4 is currently around one hour 45 minutes and for Tornado F3 is currently around one hour 30 minutes.
	Information on the impact of aircraft unserviceability on planned sorties and costs of ground support crews is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	There have been nine Tornado and eight Harrier accidents during the last 10 years (since 1 March 2001) involving death, major injury, significant damage or total loss of the aircraft. These figures exclude the Tornado incident at RAF Lossiemouth on 10 February 2011 as the damage to this aircraft has not yet been categorised.

Military Aircraft

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of the 170 trainee pilots to be made redundant in the programme announced on 1 March 2011 fly  (a) fast jets,  (b) multi-engine aircraft and  (c) helicopters;
	(2)  how many of the 344 trainee pilots who are to continue their training fly  (a) fast jets,  (b) multi-engine aircraft and  (c) helicopters.

Peter Luff: No RAF trainee pilots have been selected for redundancy at this stage. The RAF is currently in the process of selecting up to 170 RAF trainee pilots to be removed from the flying training pipeline. This will be completed and the individuals informed by mid March. Those who will be removed from flying training will undergo a further selection process for possible transfer to ground based branches within the RAF. Those who are unsuccessful will then be considered for redundancy by the redundancy selection board which sits at the end of May this year. Until this process is complete we cannot announce any further details.

Military Bases

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress has been made on the review of army bases.

Gerald Howarth: The Ministry of Defence is addressing the full range of issues affecting the future basing requirements for all three services, arising from the strategic defence and security review. This work will deliver a long-term, cost effective solution to enable the delivery of operational capability and provide value for money for the taxpayer. The complexity of the work means that it will necessarily take some time, but there will be an announcement before the summer recess.

Navy: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the civil nuclear industry on the role of Royal Navy nuclear personnel in providing training to the industry; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: There have been no discussions with the civil nuclear industry regarding the provision of training by Royal Navy personnel.

Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent in Northern Ireland in each year since 2001.

Peter Luff: The costs of UK military activity in financial years 2004-05 to 2009-10 for Northern Ireland are provided in the following table. Information for financial years 2001-02 to 2003-04 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Financial year  £ million 
			 2004-05 284 
			 2005-06 281 
			 2006-07 128 
			 2007-08 89 
			 2008-09 79 
			 2009-10 90 
			  Notes: 1. Figures include costs associated with pay for locally employed civilians and Territorial Army, utilities, white fleet vehicle leasing and fuel. The figures do not include costs associated with military equipment, military personnel pay, or IT and communications. 2. Figures from 2005-06 onwards do not include estate works and maintenance.

Nuclear Weapons

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account he has taken of his assessment of the threat of State-on-State nuclear warfare in  (a) implementing commitments under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and  (b) discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

Andrew Robathan: In the October 2010 strategic defence and security review (SDSR) the Government assessed that while no state currently has both the intent and the capability to threaten the independence or integrity of the UK, we cannot dismiss the possibility that a major direct nuclear threat to the UK might re-emerge.
	The Government are committed to fulfilling its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons. We therefore continue to work closely with partners from across the international community to progress realistic and balanced action to strengthen each of the NPT's three pillars (non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy). We will continue to work to create a safer and more stable world where all nations are able to relinquish their nuclear weapons.
	The Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), has regular exchanges with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and other ministerial colleagues on a wide range of Defence security issues, including nuclear and NPT related issues.

Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to review the (a) scale and (b) capacity of the planned new warhead assembly and disassembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield against the conclusions of the Strategic Defence and Security Review in respect of the UK's future stock of nuclear weapons.

Andrew Robathan: The scale and capacity of the planned replacement assembly/disassembly facility at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield has been reviewed to take account of the decisions announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review in respect of the UK's future stock of nuclear weapons.
	This review has confirmed that the proposed design remains the minimum required, in terms of scale and capacity, to meet the UK's deterrent programme.

Pigmeat

Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of  (a) pork and  (b) bacon for use by service personnel on duty in the UK was procured from UK sources in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: Armed forces personnel are primarily catered for through outsourced Catering, Retail and Leisure (CRL) contracts which are being introduced across the UK Defence estate, Germany and Cyprus. Some 65% of armed forces personnel are catered for under these arrangements. The balance of our forces in UK and those serving on operations are catered for under a single Food Supply Contract (FSC).
	The third (and most recent) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report on the proportion of domestically produced food procured by government, covering 2008-09, showed that 1% of bacon and 47% of other pork products provided under CRL arrangements was British. The corresponding figures for personnel fed under the FSC were 0% of bacon and 100% of other pork products.

EDUCATION

Academies

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which unit of his Department is responsible for schools seeking to convert to academy status.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 4 February 2011
	 The Academies Delivery Group within the Infrastructure and Funding Directorate is responsible for schools seeking to convert to academy status.

Academies: Teachers

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what minimum qualifications are required of teachers in academy schools.

Nick Gibb: Requirements for teaching staff qualifications are set out in each Academy's Funding Agreement. Anyone who carries out 'specified work' (the teaching and planning of lessons) within an Academy must have Qualified Teacher Status or be 'otherwise eligible' to do specified work. This includes someone teaching a particular vocational skill who is not a qualified teacher in the traditional sense, but has relevant qualifications and experience. Individual Academy Governing Bodies will need to be satisfied that the qualifications and experience are relevant and appropriate to the post.
	Teachers employed in Free Schools, which are also classed as Academies, are not required to hold Qualified Teacher Status.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the oral answer from the Deputy Prime Minister of 21 July 2010,  Official Report, column 341, when he expects to make arrangements to meet hon. Members from Gateshead Borough to discuss the future of schools in Gateshead following changes to the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 18 October 2010
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend, met with the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns) and the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr Anderson) on 15 December 2010.

Children's Centres: Operating Costs

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the average administration costs of Sure Start children centres nationally.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 14 February 2011
	The Department for Education does not currently collect data on the administration costs of Sure Start Children's Centres nationally. The National Audit Office (NAO) provided analysis of children's centres administration costs to the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee in December 2009-it is available from the NAO website at:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0910/sure_start _childrens_centres.aspx
	We have consulted on changes to data which local authorities are required to report on their expenditure on children's services. From 2011-12, local authority expenditure on Sure Start Children's Centres will be published, including how much funding is held back for local authority central administration costs, and how much is spent on front line services.

College of Social Work

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the Social Care Institute for Excellence will have a role in the running of the College of Social Work.

Tim Loughton: In 2009 the Social Work Task Force recommended the establishment of an independent College of Social Work to articulate and promote the interests of good social work. It will give the profession itself strong, independent leadership; a clear voice in public debate, policy development and policy delivery; and strong ownership of professional social work standards.
	The Social Care Institute for Excellence has been asked to facilitate the establishment of the College of Social Work, providing administrative support and expertise in a developmental phase of two years. Neither Government nor SCIE seek to influence the form or function of the emerging college. SCIE will have no role in the governance of the college that emerges.

Departmental Correspondence

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department expects to reply to the letter sent by Mr Brian Gates, Chair of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, dated 29 November 2010, on religious education and the national curriculum review.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 21 January 2011
	I responded to the letter from Professor Gates on 21 December .2010.

Early Intervention Grant: Impact Assessments

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what equality impact assessments his Department carried out in respect of the  (a) establishment of and  (b) funding allocated to the Early Intervention Grant;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received from  (a) local authorities and  (b) trade unions on the establishment and funding of the Early Intervention Grant.

Sarah Teather: The Early Intervention Grant and funding arrangements for it were established as part of the comprehensive spending review. as part of the spending review process, my Department considered carefully the equality implications of proposed changes to the funding it provides to local authorities.
	The Government are freeing local authorities to focus on essential frontline services, and to invest in early intervention and prevention to produce long-term savings and better results for children, young people and families. A key element of this approach has been the creation of the Early Intervention Grant for local authorities in England. In a tight funding settlement, some reduction in central government support was inevitable. The grant will however provide a substantial funding stream, with new flexibility to enable local authorities to act more strategically and target investment early, where it will have the greatest impact.
	Against the background of greater flexibility to decide priorities locally, there are key areas of early intervention where the Government have prioritised investment in the overall grant:
	to maintain the existing network of Sure Start Children's Centres-accessible to all but identifying and supporting families in greatest need;
	to enable local authorities to build capacity towards our planned extension of free early education with an entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds from 2013 (subject to the will of Parliament); and
	to provide respite to the most vulnerable families through provision of short breaks for disabled children.
	When deciding the formula used for allocating the grant to local authorities we considered the equalities impact and for that reason selected an approach which is weighted to relative levels of social deprivation, given that families with disabled children and those from a number of other disadvantaged groups are over-represented in deprived areas. We have therefore created the conditions for local authorities themselves to consider locally where to invest to get the best outcomes, especially for the most disadvantaged groups.
	The Department has a range of formal and informal contact and discussions with local government and trade unions, which cover many issues including funding.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people have received education maintenance allowance in Torbay local authority area since the scheme's inception.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Torbay with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 25 January 2011:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question PQ35563 that asked:
	"How many people have received education maintenance allowance in Torbay local authority area since the scheme's inception."
	Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	
		
			  EMA take-up for the Torbay local authority area 
			  Academic year  Take-up 
			 2004-05 765 
			 2005-06 1,377 
			 2006-07 1,648 
			 2007-08 1,807 
			 2008-09 1,860 
			 2009-10 2,174 
			 2010(1) 1,991 
			 (1 )as at 31 December 2010 
		
	
	EMA take-up data showing the number of young people who have received one or more EMA payments during 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08 2008/09 and 2009/10 is available on the YPLA website, at the following address:
	http://ema.ypla.gov.uk/resources/research/takeup/

Education: Research

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which local authorities participated in the National Foundation for Education Research study barriers to participation in education and training.

Nick Gibb: The local authorities that participated in the National Foundation for Educational Research study on Barriers to Participation in Education and Training have not been identified in the published report.
	The report states that six local authorities took part in the study, which were selected to be broadly representative in terms of type of authority, rural/urban authority, level of deprivation and the proportion of young people who were not in education, employment or training.

English Baccalaureate: Arts

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to include music and religious education in his proposals for humanities GCSE options in an English baccalaureate.

Nick Gibb: We are concerned that the number of pupils, especially those in disadvantaged areas, who receive a broad education in core academic subjects is far too small. We want to encourage more pupils to take these core subjects and to bring about greater fairness of opportunity.
	The English Baccalaureate does not include all the subjects we think are worthy of study. We recognise that study in other subjects will be just as valuable to pupils and we will encourage all pupils to study non-English Baccalaureate subjects alongside the English Baccalaureate in order to benefit from a well rounded education. This is why we have kept the number of core subjects small enough to allow wider study. Subjects, such as religious studies and music which do not count towards the English Baccalaureate, can and will play a part in a well rounded, rigorous education.
	Achievement in these subjects, as with all GCSEs, will continue to be recognised in the performance tables as part of the A*-C measure and the teaching of religious education remains compulsory throughout a pupil's schooling.

Extra Curricular Activities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of long-term trends in  (a) availability of and  (b) participation in extra curricular activities in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect data on the availability of and participation in extra curricular activities. However, the Department for Education's Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents for 2009, published in October 2010, does give an indication of the proportion of children participating in some extra curricular activities beyond the school. The survey entailed interviews with a sample of just over 6,700 parents with children aged under 15. One-third of the sample of families used a breakfast or after-school club on a school site and 7% used a breakfast or after-school club off-site. Full details of the surveys can be found at:
	http://publications.education.gov.uk/default.aspx?Page Function=productdetails&PaqeMode=publications &Productld=DFE-RR054

Free Schools: Rotherham

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on the establishment of free schools in Rotherham; and from whom such representations have been received.

Nick Gibb: To date, the Department for Education has received two proposals for Free Schools in Rotherham. As part of their Free School proposal, the Three Valleys Independent Academy provided the Department with petitions and short standard statements from 423 supporters. In addition, representations have been received from the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey) regarding Three Valleys.

Higher Education: Admissions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the number of higher education places for pupils of independent schools.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
	Government policy is that access to Higher Education should be based on talent and potential, irrespective of background. Decisions about admission to university are a matter for individual universities, and not for Government. We have no policy view on the number of higher education places for pupils of independent schools.

Home Education

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils were educated out of mainstream education in the latest period in which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number of pupils attending non-mainstream schools and on those funded under alternative provision is shown in the table. Information is not collected on elective home education.
	
		
			  Non-mainstream schools: Number of pupils: As at January 2010- In England 
			   Number of pupils 
			 Special schools(1, 2, 3) 90,760 
			 Independent special schools(3, 4) 9,360 
			 Pupil referral units(4, 5) 13,240 
			 Alternative provision(3, 6) 22,510 
			 (1) Includes maintained, non-maintained special schools and general hospital schools. (2) Includes solely registered pupils. Excludes 2,470 dual main registered pupils and 1,670 dual subsiduary registered pupils. (3) There may be an element of double-counting of local authority-funded pupils in non-maintained special schools and independent special schools as some pupils may also be included under alternative provision. (4) Includes solely registered pupils. (5) Includes boarding pupils and pupils registered in other providers and further education colleges. Excludes 2,310 dual main registered pupils and 8,360 dual subsiduary registered pupils. (6) Includes sole and dual registered pupils.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10  Source: School Census, Pupil Referral Unit Census and Alternative Provision Census

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2011,  Official Report, column 291W, on personal, social, health and economic education, if he will place in the Library a copy of each document held by his Department that relates to provisions of Clauses 11 to 14 of the Children, Schools and Families Act 2010 relating to sex and relationships education; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: I have placed in the House Libraries a copy of:
	(i) the Review of Sex and Relationships (SRE) in Schools; and
	(ii) the Independent Review of the proposal to make Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) Education statutory.
	The Department does not release internal documents related to the formulation or development of Government policy.

Poverty and Life Chances Review

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has for implementation of the recommendations of the report of the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances.

Sarah Teather: The Government welcomes the publication of the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field) review. We are considering the review's findings in detail alongside the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Mr Allen) first report on Early Intervention which was published on 19 January, and responses to the consultation "Tackling child poverty and improving life chances: consulting on a new approach" which closed on 15 February. We will be responding to the findings in the coming months through the forthcoming Social Mobility strategy, Child Poverty strategy, and Early Years Policy statement.

Poverty: Children

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to reduce child poverty; and what financial resources it has allocated to those steps in each of the next four financial years.

Sarah Teather: The Government will publish their plans for ending child poverty by 2020 in their child poverty strategy. This will be published in the spring, as required by the Child Poverty Act. The strategy will show how we aim to eradicate the causes of poverty rather than simply treating the symptoms as the previous Government did. This will show how we intend to support social mobility, ensure life chances are fair, and break the cycle of poverty and deprivation.

Pre-School Education: Personnel

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of individuals of each gender working in early years care in the  (a) private,  (b) public and  (c) voluntary or non-profit sector;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people working in early years care in the  (a) private,  (b) public and  (c) voluntary or non-profit sector;
	(3)  what recent estimate he has made of levels of demand for child care in the 30% most deprived areas.

Sarah Teather: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2008 collected information on the gender of the childcare and early years workforce, but this information is not available by type of ownership (private, public and voluntary or non-profit sector) of the setting. Information on the gender of the childcare and early years workforce beyond 2008 will not be available until the publication of the 2010 survey.
	Table 1 shows the proportion of staff of each gender in the childcare and early years workforce in England in 2008.
	
		
			  Table 1: Proportion of staff by gender 
			  Percentage 
			  Type of setting  Male  Female 
			 Full day care 2 98 
			 Full day care in children's centres 2 98 
			 Sessional 1 99 
			 After school clubs 7 93 
			 Holiday clubs 14 86 
			 Childminders 2 98 
			 Nursery schools 2 98 
			 Primary schools with nursery and reception classes 1 99 
			 Primary schools with reception but no nursery classes 1 99 
			 Base: Childcare providers 2008. Early years provision in maintained schools 2008. 
		
	
	The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2009 collected information on the number of paid staff working in sessional and full day care by type of ownership of the setting.
	Table 2 shows the number of paid staff working in sessional and full day care by type of setting ownership in England in 2009.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of paid staff by type of care and ownership of setting 
			   Private  Voluntary  Local authority  School/college  Other 
			 Full daycare 124,700 26,300 7,700 9,300 5,000 
			 Sessional 14,900 32,900 (1)1,1004 (1)1,200$ (2)- 
			  Note: All paid staff in settings 2009. (1) Signifies a cell where data should be treated with caution due to a low base size. (2) Signifies a cell where data has not been included due to a base of less than 50. 
		
	
	We are also aware from the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents 2009 that 6% of children aged between three and four years old attend breakfast, after-school clubs or activities. However, we are unable to estimate the numbers of staff working in settings providing holiday and after-school clubs that work with this small proportion of young children.
	The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2009 collects information on the number of childcare and early years places and vacancies in the 30% most deprived areas.
	Table 3 shows the number of childcare and early years places and vacancies in the 30% most deprived areas England in from 2006 to 2009. Table 3: Number of places and vacant places in the 30% most deprived areas 2006
	
		
			   Places  Vacancies 
			 2006 718,100 104,000 
			 2007 735,500 134,700 
			 2008 759,200 109,800 
			 2009 680,200 101,500 
			  Note: Childcare providers in 30% most deprived areas 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006. Early years provision in maintained schools in 30% most deprived areas 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006. 
		
	
	Table 4 shows the percentage change in the number of childcare and early years places and vacancies in the 30% most deprived areas from 2006 to 2009.
	
		
			  Table 4: Percentage change in the 30% most deprived areas 
			   Places  Vacancies 
			 2006 to 2009 2 30 
			 2006 to 2007 3 -18 
			 2007 to 2008 -10 -8 
			 2008 to 2009 -5 -2 
			  Note: Childcare providers in 30% most deprived areas 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006. Early years provision in maintained schools in 30% most deprived areas 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006.

Religious Studies

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for future teaching of religious studies after its exclusion from the English Baccalaureate humanities list.

Nick Gibb: We consider religious education to be a very important subject and it will remain a compulsory part of the basic curriculum in maintained schools.
	We have not included religious education (RE) as fulfilling the humanity requirement of the English Baccalaureate because it is already a compulsory subject. One of the intentions of the English Baccalaureate is to encourage wider take up of geography and history in addition to, rather than instead of, compulsory RE.
	However we recognise, as many schools do, the benefits that religious education can bring to pupils. This is why the teaching of RE remains compulsory throughout a pupil's schooling. Success in all subjects studied at GCSE will also continue to be recognised by other performance table measures, as it has in the past. We are open to arguments about how we can further improve the measures in the performance tables and will review the precise definition of the English Baccalaureate for the 2011 tables.

School Leaving

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support he plans to provide to people aged 16 to 18 years in extending the participation age to 18 years.

Nick Gibb: We are committed to making sure that every young person remains in education or training until they are 18, giving them the opportunity to gain skills and qualifications that prepares them for Higher Education, work and adult life. The majority of 16 and 17-year-olds are already participating; latest figures show that 93.6% of 16-year-olds and 87.4% 17-year-olds were in education or work based learning at the end of 2009.
	Over the current spending review period, 16-19 provision will be funded to allow schools and colleges to increase the number of places in education.
	Schools will have responsibility for making sure that their students have access to independent, impartial careers guidance, to help them make decisions about the options that are open to them. Local authorities will continue to support young people who need more targeted support to overcome specific barriers to participation.
	We know that some young people face genuine financial barriers to participation. We are currently considering the replacement for the education maintenance allowance and want to ensure that the funds we have are targeted on those young people who most need support to enable them to participate in education.

Schools: Discipline

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to meet organisations representing young carers to discuss his proposal to remove the requirement for 24 hours' notice for detention in schools.

Nick Gibb: This matter was discussed at the Education Select Committee inquiry into behaviour, on 17 November 2010. I plan to meet with young carer organisations to discuss how schools can be more flexible and supportive in responding to young carer's needs.
	Helping to care for a family member is something that many young people are happy and proud to do. These young people play an important role both for their families and society as a whole and they deserve our recognition and support. The Department for Education with the Department of Health is committed to supporting local services including many voluntary organisations which have been set up to support these young people.
	Removing the requirement for 24 hours notice of detention will allow detentions to be issued for the end of the same day, enabling a more immediate response to poor behaviour. Schools must act reasonably when issuing detentions and it is common sense that they should carefully consider whether an after school or Saturday detention is appropriate for certain pupils, including those with caring responsibilities. The Government trust teachers to make decisions such as these.
	The Department for Education and the Department of Health are already working with National Young Carers Coalition to raise awareness within schools about how to identify and support young carers. The Government have also recently published "Recognised, valued and supported: next steps for the Carers Strategy". It recognises that there are a number of 'hidden' young carers and encourages front-line services including schools, GPs, mental health and substance misuse to put in place systems to identify and respond to young carers needs.

Schools: Rugby and Football

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many secondary schools had school sports partnerships with links to professional rugby league clubs in the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many secondary schools had school sports partnerships with links to professional rugby union clubs in the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many secondary schools had school sports partnerships with links to professional football clubs in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 24 January 2011
	 The most recent PE and sport survey showed that, in the school year 2009/10, 50% of schools reported that they had links with a rugby union club and 22% with a rugby league club, 79% of schools reported that they had links with a football club. There is no breakdown between primary and secondary schools. The Department published this information in September 2010.

Schools: Sanitation

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the use of outside lavatories in cold weather in junior and infant schools.

Nick Gibb: Individual local authorities and schools are responsible for deciding whether to retain outside toilets for pupils' use. A number of schools and local authorities have chosen to use the capital funding devolved directly to them to invest in the removal of outside toilets. However some schools made local decisions to retain their toilets for use during playtime and breaks.

Schools: Warwickshire

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the funds that will be available to schools in  (a) Warwickshire,  (b) North Warwickshire borough and  (c) Nuneaton and Bedworth borough as a result of the pupil premium in each year to 2014-15.

Nick Gibb: The pupil premium for 2011-12 will be allocated to local authorities and schools with pupils that are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) as recorded on the January 2011 school census, pupil referral unit census and alternative provision census. Each pupil known to be eligible for free school meals will attract £430 of funding which will go to the school or academy via the local authority or YPLA if the pupil is in a mainstream setting or will be managed by the responsible local authority if the pupil is in a non-mainstream setting.
	Local authorities will also attract the looked after child pupil premium for 2011-12 which will be allocated to local authorities for pupils who at some point in the year to 31 March 2010 were looked after continuously for at least six months, and who were aged 4 to 15 on 31 August 2009 as recorded on the April 2010 local authority return. Each pupil will attract £430 of funding which will go to the responsible local authority who will pass it to maintained schools for pupils who have been in care for six months or more in the year to 31 March 2011.
	The amounts allocated in 2011-12 will depend on the numbers of FSM and looked-after pupils recorded on the January 2011 censuses, so it is not possible to give precise figures for 2011 and subsequent years. We aim to extend the coverage of the pupil premium from 2012-13 onwards to pupils who have previously been known to be eligible for free school meals. We intend to consult on this, including the question of which deprivation indicator to use, in the summer.
	The January 2010 school censuses allow an estimate of the number of pupils known to be eligible for FSM or to be looked-after children to be made. In Warwickshire in January 2010 there were 8,165 pupils known to be eligible, which would give rise to a pupil premium of £3,510,950. In addition to this there were 185 pupils known to be eligible for the service child premium, paid at a lower rate of £200 per pupil, which would give rise to a further £155,000. However, these are estimates only and are not necessarily indicative of how the pupil premium will be distributed.
	At borough level again the January 2010 school census allows an estimate of the number of pupils known to be eligible for FSM to be made. This does not include looked-after children or service children as data for these is not available at borough level. In North Warwickshire in January 2010 there were 1,110 pupils known to be eligible, which would give rise to a pupil premium of £477,300. In Nuneaton and Bedworth in January 2010 there were 2,580 pupils known to be eligible, which would give rise to a pupil premium of £1,109,400.

Sixth Form Education

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he had with  (a) the Sixth Form College Forum,  (b) the Association of Colleges and  (c) other bodies representing post-16 education providers before making his decision to reduce the funding for entitlement to 30 funded learning hours.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 24 January 2011
	 The options for making savings on 16-19 participation unit costs were discussed in broad terms with the Sixth Form Colleges' Forum, the Association of Colleges and other bodies representing post-16 education through the Technical Advisory Group of the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA), and also with the Board of the YPLA. These discussions informed the decisions which were taken.
	A range of savings options were considered in order to achieve the unit cost savings necessary, given the fiscal position we faced. The decision to reduce the funding for additional enrichment activities was taken after due consideration of whether it provided value for money for all full-time students compared to other options and in order to deliver the priorities for 16-19 education. These included our commitment to deliver on full participation, the need to protect the core programme equivalent to four A-levels, and the need to protect tutorial provision as far as possible. The savings from the entitlement also made it possible to increase the funding for 16 to 19-year-old disadvantaged students where we have increased funding by one-third to £770 million.

HEALTH

Audiology

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that a high quality audiology service will continue to be provided free at the point of delivery by GP commissioning consortia.

Simon Burns: Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, general practitioner (GP) consortia will commission healthcare services (including audiology) that continue to be free at the point of use and based on need, not ability to pay. They will be supported by the NHS Commissioning Board, which will have a vital role in providing national leadership for driving up the quality of care across health commissioning. The board will do this by supporting GP consortia in a number of ways including publishing commissioning guidance and model care pathways, based on the evidence-based quality standards that it has asked National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop.

Contraception: Expenditure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on the provision of  (a) the contraceptive pill,  (b) emergency hormonal contraception,  (c) condoms and  (d) long-acting reversible contraception on the NHS in each of the last five years; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each method in reducing the rate of (i) teenage pregnancy and (ii) sexually transmitted diseases in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Information on expenditure for prescriptions for the contraceptive pill, emergency hormonal contraception and long-acting reversible contraception dispensed in the community in England is shown in the following table. This does not include contraception supplied by sexual and reproductive health services (previously called family planning clinics) or issued under patient group directions. Condoms are not prescription only medicine items, and are supplied by the national health service via other routes and are funded by primary care trusts.
	A clinical guideline, "Long-acting reversible contraception: the effective and appropriate use of long-acting reversible contraception", published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, found that by raising the profile of different methods of contraception particularly long acting reversible contraception and increasing contraceptive choice, the number of unintended pregnancies would fall. Contraception is the best way of avoiding unintended pregnancies and condoms are the best form of protection against a sexually transmitted infection.
	Healthcare professionals should have regard to the latest evidence based and guidelines when considering effectiveness and which method will be best for an individual patient.
	
		
			  Net ingredient cost 
			  £000 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Contraceptive Pill 49,556.4 53,255.2 57,222.5 61,057.9 59,702.7 
			 Emergency Hormonal Contraception 1,945.9 2,210.0 1,892.3 1,727.0 1,621.9 
			 Long-acting Reversible Contraception 14,472.4 15,840.4 17,995.0 20,583.7 24,175.8 
			  Notes: 1. PCA Data Prescription information is taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system, supplied by the Prescription Services Division of the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA), and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions. 2. Prescribers are general practitioners, hospital doctors, dentists and non medical prescribers such as nurses and pharmacists. 3. Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) NIC is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. 4. Long-acting Reversible Contraception includes Intra-Uterine Devices and Diaphragms. Patches and vaginal ring products have been excluded from the figures. 5. Although figures are published by the NHS Information Centre on the number of patients accessing these services, the cost of such provision is not collected.  Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (NHS Information Centre).

Contraception: Expenditure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to provision of  (a) the contraceptive pill,  (b) emergency hormonal contraception,  (c) condoms and  (d) long-acting reversible contraception for people aged under 16 years in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department currently makes recurrent revenue allocations direct to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a national weighted capitation formula which is used to determine each PCTs target share of available resources. The components of the formula are used to weight each PCTs population according to their relative need (age and additional need) for healthcare and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing healthcare (the market forces factor).
	PCT recurrent revenue allocations are not broken down by policy or service area. Once allocated, it is for PCTs to commission the services they require to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of both local and national priorities.
	Between 2008-09 and 2010-11 the Department allocated £33,062,000 to strategic health authorities to improve access to and choice of contraception, for women of all age groups particularly young women, including those aged under 16.

Contraceptives: Children

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the pilot scheme to permit children on the Isle of Wight from the age of 13 years to obtain the contraceptive pill from pharmacies; what the evidential basis is for the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department has received representations about the Isle of Wight scheme but cannot provide a precise number as we do not index correspondence down to that level of detail.
	The primary aim of the pilot scheme is to provide education and support to inform young people who are already sexually active about future contraceptive options and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. This service neither condones nor promotes sex at any age, but seeks to link those who have been sexually active with the appropriate supporting care pathway including safeguarding issues to ensure that, if appropriate, they are provided with a safe method of contraception for a limited period. The pilot scheme will be carefully monitored by Isle of Wight Primary Care Trust to ensure that performance, engagement and referral pathways are robust.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he is responsible.

Simon Burns: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps to enable the public to hold departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Epilepsy: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the adequacy of provision of epilepsy specialist  (a) nurses and  (b) consultants in the Brighton and Hove area; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: It is the responsibility of local health bodies to commission services to meet the needs of those living with epilepsy, including the provision of specialist nurses and consultants where appropriate.
	The "National Service Framework for long-term conditions" is the key tool for delivering the Government's strategy to support and improve services for those living with long-term neurological conditions, including epilepsy.

Food: Standards

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects his Department to meet the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

Simon Burns: Departmental officials are currently in negotiation with the Department's caterers to extend the food procurement contract for all its buildings by 31 March 2011. This will reflect the Government's commitment to source food that meets British or equivalent standards of production.

General Practitioners

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2011,  Official Report, column 607W, on general practitioners, which provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill are intended to establish that GP commissioning consortia are to be statutory public bodies.

Simon Burns: Clause 6 of the Health and Social Care Bill would establish by statute, commissioning consortia as bodies corporate with the function of arranging for the provision of health services in England. Clause 21 outlines further provisions for the .establishment of commissioning consortia and their duties as statutory public bodies.

Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the budget for Public Health England was in 2010-11; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what account the proposed arrangements for public health spending will take of the public health needs of deprived areas; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent estimate he has made of the level of public expenditure on public health in the latest period for which figures are available; what effects the proposed reforms contained in the public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People, will have on the level of public expenditure on public health; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  if he will estimate the level of funding to be allocated to each local authority after the implementation of the reforms in the public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  which local authority will be allocated the  (a) largest and  (b) smallest public health budget following the implementation of the proposals in the public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We are currently consulting on the functions and services to be funded through the public health budget and commissioning routes in "Healthy Lives, Healthy People: consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health". The responses to the consultation on functions and services will be important in helping determine the size of future public health budgets.
	Early estimates suggest that total current spend in areas that are likely to be the responsibility of Public Health England could be over £4 billion. Building on the proposed commissioning responsibilities in the consultation document the Department is continuing work to establish baseline spend on activities that will be funded from the public health budget in future. This will be subject to revision as responses to the consultation on the responsibilities to be funded from the public health budget lead to revisions in the design of the service.
	From April 2013, upper tier and unitary local authorities will receive a new ring-fenced public health grant, in order to improve the health of their local population. The size of the ring-fenced grant will be based on relative population health need and weighted for inequalities. Apart from mandatory services, it will be for local authorities to determine how best to invest this funding to meet local priorities. We are consulting on the approach to developing the allocations, and it is therefore too early to say how much will be allocated to each local authority. Shadow allocations for the ring-fenced grant to local authorities will be issued by the end of 2011.
	During 2010-11 and 2011-12, primary care trust (PCT) allocations are not broken down into sums for individual policy streams, and it is for PCTs to decide how much to spend in line with the requirements of the NHS Operating Framework.

Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the budget for vaccination and immunisation following the implementation of the proposals in the public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the budget to be allocated to children's health following the implementation of the proposals in the public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the planned budget is for  (a) health visiting,  (b) nursing and midwifery and  (c) fertility and embryology following the publication of the White Paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We are currently consulting on the functions and services to be funded through the public health budget and commissioning routes in "Healthy Lives, Healthy People: consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health". The responses to the consultation on functions and services will be important in helping determine the size of future public health budgets.

Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and support he plans to make available to maintain adequate public health expertise; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: In the public health White Paper "Healthy Lives Healthy People", it was announced that a detailed workforce strategy to support public health is to be developed by autumn 2011, working with representative organisations. Informed by the views of people on the frontline of public health delivery it will set out how a supply of highly trained and motivated staff, with the appropriate skills for understanding the range of public health interventions, providing public health advice and commissioning the services communities require, can be sustained and grown, as needed.

Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the accountability of local authorities for achieving public health outcomes under his proposals contained in the public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Based on the principles of transparency and localism, local people and communities will hold their local authorities to account for the delivery of improved outcomes for health and well-being.
	We are currently consulting on proposals for an outcomes framework for public health and will publish a final framework in the summer of this year. In due course Public Health England will publish information relating to outcomes available in one place enabling national and local democratic accountability for performance against those outcomes. Our aim is to make it easy for local areas to compare themselves with others across the country and thereby to incentivise improvements.
	The proposed health premium will reward local authorities retrospectively for progress made against a sub-set of the public health indicators. We are currently consulting on the plans for the health premium.

Health Professions

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2011,  Official Report, column 965W, on healthcare science, when he expects to take a decision on his policy on the regulation of the healthcare science workforce; and what interim arrangements will be put in place until such a decision is made.

Anne Milton: The Command Paper "Enabling Excellence" laid before Parliament on 16 February 2011 sets out the Government's overall strategy for the regulation of health care workers in the United Kingdom and social workers and social care workers in England. It makes clear that the extension of statutory regulation to currently unregulated professional or occupational groups, such as the health care science workforce, will only be considered where there is a compelling case on the basis of a public safety risk and where assured voluntary registers are not considered sufficient to manage this risk.
	A decision on the appropriate model of regulation for the health care science workforce will be made following completion of the robust evidence-based cost-benefit risk analysis.
	Departmental officials will be working with relevant professional bodies to establish interim arrangements.

Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent changes to staffing levels at the Health Protection Agency on its ability to complete its programme on health economic modelling.

Anne Milton: Detailed staffing levels are a matter for the Chief Executive and Board of the Health Protection Agency.

Hip Replacements: Waiting Lists

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for a hip replacement operation in  (a) Birmingham, Ladywood constituency,  (b) Birmingham and  (c) England in each of the last 15 years.

Simon Burns: The median time waited, in days, for hip replacement procedures, is shown in the following table. The data are not held at constituency level, therefore data have been provided for Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT), the closest to Ladywood constituency.
	
		
			  Median time waited for hip replacement procedures 
			  Days 
			   Heart of Birmingham PCT  Birmingham  England 
			 2009-10 90 80 77 
			 2008-09 61 71 75 
			 2007-08 87 101 107 
			 2006-07 102 123 148 
			 2005-06 119 113 158 
			 2004-05 132 116 182 
			 2003-04 132 126 217 
			 2002-03 141 128 229 
			 2001-02 117 108 220 
			 2000-01 106 112 212 
			 1999-2000 122 121 198 
			 1998-99 177 177 198 
			 1997-98 168 162 181 
			 1996-97 139 162 162 
			 1995-96 (1)- (1)- 157 
			 (1) PCT data not available prior to 1996-97.  Notes: 1. Heart of Birmingham PCT data are provided as a proxy for Ladywood constituency. 2. Birmingham data comprises data for Heart of Birmingham PCT; South Birmingham PCT; and Birmingham East and North PCT. Prior to 2006-07, Birmingham East and North PCT was made up of Eastern Birmingham PCT and North Birmingham PCT. 3. PCT level data are not available prior to 1996-97 therefore data for 1995-96 is provided at national level only. 4. The data include activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Hospitals: Radio

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for future support of hospital radio by the NHS  (a) during and  (b) after the proposed reorganisation of the NHS.

Simon Burns: Hospital radio stations have provided an invaluable service to patients for many years. It is for each national health service trust to determine the provision of hospital radio services within its area.

Learning Disability: Health Services

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Government's response to raising our sights: services for adults with profound intellectual and multiple services, what additional funding his Department plans to make available for implementation of recommendation 12 on providing protection of body shape.

Paul Burstow: The Government have not made funding available for specific recommendations. National health service bodies should be ensuring services meet the needs of all patients, including those with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Health and Social Care Bill will translate duty onto local authorities and general practitioner (GP) consortia and place them under a new duty to agree a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This is a new requirement through which the partners at the Health and Wellbeing Board have to agree a shared strategy for commissioning, which will have regard to their Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
	Annual GP health checks for people with learning disabilities are also a local way of ensuring all individuals with learning disabilities can access the right interventions for their health and well being.

Maternity Services

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of guidance issued by his Department on the creation of maternity networks;
	(2)  what the  (a) legal status,  (b) responsibilities and  (c) powers of maternity networks will be under his proposals;
	(3)  whether each provider of maternity cover to the NHS will be required to belong to a maternity network;
	(4)  what mechanisms maternity networks will use to provide choice for women using maternity services.

Anne Milton: In the White Paper "Excellence and Equity: Liberating the NHS", (which has already been placed in the Library) we made a commitment to extend maternity choice through maternity provider networks. Our vision is that provider networks will cover all the maternity services a mother may need throughout pregnancy, birth and postnatally, including arrangements to access services that may not be available locally, ensuring that the transitions between individual carers or organisations are as seamless as possible.
	The White Paper set out how we will empower and liberate healthcare professionals to innovate, with the freedom to focus on improving healthcare services with greater autonomy from political interference and greater accountability to patients and the public. Service changes must be led by clinicians, patients, and users; and not driven from the top down.
	"Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps" (which has already been placed in the Library), proposes a distinctive approach to commissioning maternity services, that reflects the special nature and circumstances of maternity services, locating responsibility for commissioning maternity services with GP consortia, with the NHS Commissioning Board giving a particular focus to quality improvement and extending choice for pregnant women, and supporting consortia to work collaboratively to commission services.
	Officials met with maternity and newborn professional and user organisations and commissioning organisations on 3 February 2010 to begin work to explore how best to support the development of these new arrangements, including the role of networks in this context. This work will draw on existing experience, including from areas with networks already in place, with structures varying from formal managed networks to informal networks. We expect commissioners and providers to build on these, and we anticipate that all maternity providers will want to benefit from network relationships that will enable them to extend choice and provide a seamless service for pregnant women and their families. Networks may look different in different geographical areas as they seek to meet local needs and circumstances. It will be for the providers to agree network arrangements and any support or management structures that they might want to adopt, and to identify how these could be resourced including any efficiency gains that might cover the costs.
	There will be opportunities for developing networks to link with general practitioner consortia pathfinders and Health and Wellbeing early implementers to ensure their arrangements work well for women and their families.

Medical Equipment: Counterfeit Manufacturing

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2011,  Official Report, column 267W, on medical equipment: counterfeit manufacturing, what recent steps the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has taken as part of its investigations into the use of counterfeit pulse oximeter sensors in NHS hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a Medical Device Alert to all national health service trusts warning them that counterfeit pulse oximeter sensors are being placed on the United Kingdom market and asking them to report any confirmed counterfeit devices to the Agency and the original manufacturer. The Agency has also identified the source of the sensors. Steps are being taken in line with MHRA's anti-counterfeiting strategy which is a combination of communication, collaboration and regulation measures, to minimise the risk of further counterfeit devices reaching end users. There is no evidence that the counterfeit sensors already found are unsafe.

Mental Health Services: Ex-servicemen

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made since October 2010 on providing armed forces veterans with  (a) physical and  (b) mental health needs with access to a dedicated 24-hour support line.

Simon Burns: The Department has worked closely with its strategic partner, Combat Stress and the mental health charity Rethink to put the 24 hour support line in place. The helpline will offer a signposting service which will help veterans to access other relevant services, including those which are relevant to the improvement of physical and mental wellbeing for former service personnel. The formal launch of the helpline will take place this month.

Mental Health Services: Offenders

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what alternative forms of secure, treatment-based accommodation for the mentally ill and for drugs offenders he has considered; and what progress he has made on the Government's commitment to explore alternative forms of secure, treatment-based accommodation for the mentally ill and for drugs offenders;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to divert  (a) mentally ill offenders and  (b) offenders with addiction problems to secure alternatives to prison.

Paul Burstow: The recent spending review announced by the Government committed to taking forward proposals to invest in mental health diversion services at police stations and courts to intervene at an early stage, diverting mentally ill offenders away from the justice system and into treatment where appropriate. The diversion service will be rolled out nationally over the spending review period, subject to business case approval.
	Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health have committed to this work in their recently published departmental business plans, and this aim has been supported in the Sentencing and Rehabilitation Green Paper that was recently published by the Ministry of Justice. The recently published cross-Government mental health outcomes strategy "No health without mental health" clearly details diversion as a key policy contributing to the improved mental health of offenders.
	This work on diversion includes the coalition commitment to explore 'alternative forms of secure, treatment-based accommodation for mentally ill and drugs offenders'. To support the Health and Criminal Justice work programme an interdepartmental Offender Substance Misuse Board has been convened and met to take this commitment forward. A workstream has been formed that will examine alternative forms of secure, treatment-based accommodation for drugs offenders in detail and submit a report by December 2011. In addition, a linked piece of work to scope potential options for alternatives for the mentally ill will start in April 2011 with a view to reporting later in the year.

Mental Health Services: Offenders

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made in implementing each of the recommendations in Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system which his Department accepted.

Paul Burstow: The coalition Government accepted the direction of travel set out by Lord Bradley's review for people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, the recommendations of which have been carried forward into the cross-departmental health and criminal justice work programme.
	The Government are working to improve health and social care outcomes for all people coming into contact with the criminal justice system-whether through the police, courts, probation or prisons. Its key aims are to improve commissioning, reduce health inequalities and re-offending through prevention and early intervention, and to introduce effective liaison and diversion services in police and court settings.
	A Health and Criminal Justice Programme Transition Board has been established to oversee implementation of this ambitious programme. A National Advisory Group, comprising our key external partners, has also been formed to champion the programme and ensure the experiences of carers and service users inform its implementation going forwards.
	The Board is considering the progress made against Lord Bradley's recommendations and a report on these, setting out our achievements and signalling the way forward for the Health and Criminal Justice Programme will be published shortly.

Mental Illness: Prisoners

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many offenders in prison  (a) have been diagnosed with a mental illness and  (b) have been assessed as having severe mental health problems; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: This information is not collected centrally.
	The "ONS Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales, 1997" estimated that around 90% of prisoners had at least one of the five disorders (personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse, and drug dependence) considered in the survey. Co-morbidity levels are also high. The same study found functional psychosis in 7% of sentenced male prisoners, 10% of males on remand and 14% of female prisoners. These figures are several times higher than those for the general population.
	 Source:
	Singleton et al, ONS 1997

Midwives

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve midwifery provision.

Anne Milton: The Government are committed to training the numbers of midwives needed, and is considering several ways to improve midwifery provision, for example, by improving recruitment and retention and by providing preceptorships, mentors for newly qualified midwives and reducing attrition rates.
	The planned number of midwives entering training in 2010-11 is 2,493-a record level. We expect there will be a sustained increase in the number of new midwives available to the service over the next few years
	In the White Paper "Excellence and Equity: Liberating the NHS" (a copy of which has already been placed in the Library) we made a commitment to extend maternity choice through maternity provider networks. Our vision is that maternity provider networks will cover all the services a mother may need throughout pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period, including arrangements to access services that may not be available locally, ensuring that the transitions between individual carers or organisations are as seamless as possible.
	It will be for the providers to agree network arrangements and any support or management structures that they might want to adopt, and to identify how these could be resourced including any efficiency gains that might cover the costs.

Multiple Sclerosis

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department plans to provide for hippotherapy treatment for people suffering from multiple sclerosis during the comprehensive spending review period.

Paul Burstow: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to commission appropriate services to meet the needs of their local population living with multiple sclerosis. This includes making available hippotherapy if this is deemed appropriate.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he has assessed the effect of whistleblower rights and protections on safeguarding of  (a) patients and  (b) public funds; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures are in place to  (a) protect and  (b) encourage whistleblowers in the NHS with concerns over (i) the use of public funds and (ii) the competence of a doctor in (A) general practice and (B) a hospital trust; and whether he plans to introduce any new measures.

Anne Milton: The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) is part of the wider employment rights legislation and gives the full protection of the law to all staff who act in the public interest, providing they follow the procedures set out in the Act. It therefore applies to all staff working in the national health service.
	Although PIDA does not in itself require organisations to set up whistleblowing policies and procedures, it does provide an impetus for doing so. The Department issued guidance to the NHS in 2003 ("So Long Silence-whistleblowing in the NHS: The policy pack"). This guidance made clear that NHS organisations should put in place local policies and procedures that comply with PIDA and set out minimum requirements for such policies.
	Following the recommendation made in the Health Select Committee report on Patient Safety published July 2009, this guidance has been revised and published by the Social Partnership Forum, in conjunction with Public Concern at Work, who drafted the guidance. Published on 25 June 2010, "Speak up for a Healthy NHS" provides some simple steps to help NHS organisations ensure their whistleblowing arrangements work in practice.
	On 9 June the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), announced a full public inquiry into the role of commissioning, supervising and regulatory bodies in the monitoring of Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust. As part of this, he also stated his intentions to undertake further work on whistleblowing and improve procedures for those who wished to raise concerns.

NHS: Public Bodies

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which will be the accrediting body for General Practitioner of Special Interest after the abolition of the primary care trusts and deaneries; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what arrangements will be made to accredit  (a) nurses,  (b) pharmacists and  (c) podiatrists working independently as practitioners with a special interest under the any willing providers arrangements to be rolled-out following the abolition of primary care trusts.

Anne Milton: Future arrangements for the accreditation of doctors and pharmacists with a special interest are under review and no decisions have yet been taken. The Department will issue guidance in the spring about the implementation of the "Any Willing Provider" policy for community services, including the way in which providers will qualify. Key principles are that services should be aligned with evidence based care pathways, that they should meet essential standards of quality and safety, and that individual practitioners should have and maintain the specialist skills needed.
	Nurses and podiatrists are not covered by the current accreditation arrangements for practitioners with a special interest, but similar principles are likely to apply.

NHS: Reorganisation

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the proposed restructuring of NHS Commissioning in  (a) Birmingham,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) England.

Simon Burns: The costs of the proposed restructuring of NHS commissioning were published in the impact assessment alongside the Health and Social Care Bill 2011. It estimates a cost of £1.2 billion for the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities and the transfer of their functions to the new organisations.
	The Department has not estimated a regional breakdown of these figures, as these will depend on local decisions.
	The impact assessment is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsLegislation/DH_123583
	A copy has also been placed in the Library.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what acute hospital services are provided by North Cumbria University Hospitals Acute Trust;
	(2)  when he expects the rebuilding of West Cumberland Hospital to commence; and what services he expects will be provided at the hospital following its rebuilding.

Simon Burns: Responsibility for delivering local health services lies with the national health service locally. Both the re-development of acute hospital facilities in Cumbria and decisions on the provision of acute hospital services are a matter for commissioners in Cumbria, working in partnership with patients, the public and other interested stakeholders.
	Cumbria primary care trust and the North Cumbria university hospitals NHS trust are best placed to advise on the current position of any proposed developments and the provision of local services.

Nutrition

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's budget for improving food, diet and nutrition is in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: During 2010-11 and 2011-12, primary care trust (PCT) allocations are not broken down into sums for individual policy streams, and it is for PCTs to decide how much to spend in line with the requirements of the NHS Operating Framework. We do not therefore set an overall budget for expenditure on improving food, diet and nutrition.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to create a system of prescription charges and exemptions which takes into account overall financing of the NHS.

Simon Burns: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Michael Dugher) on 27 January 2011,  Official Report, column 469W.

Psychiatry

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much on average NHS commissioners paid for NHS medium-secure psychiatric beds  (a) to each provider and  (b) in each day of the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows total expenditure on the provision of low and medium secure and high dependency services for 2009-10 which is the latest period for which figures are available:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Local Low Secure Service 291,176,260 
			 Local Medium Secure Service 225,508,640 
			 Local Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit 124,435,75 
			 Regional Medium Secure Service 229,906,49 
			 Secure and High Dependency Provision not allocated to service categories 53,283,740 
			 Total 924,310,740 
			  Source: 2009-10 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services.

Psychiatry

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average rate of occupancy was for NHS medium-secure psychiatric beds in each quarter of the last three years;
	(2)  what proportion of NHS psychiatric beds are  (a) generic and  (b) secure psychiatric beds; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested.
	The following tables show the average daily number of available and occupied beds overnight by mental illness, in England, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. The format of collection changed in 2010 and the total does not include information from every national health service trust:
	
		
			  Available 
			 Mental illness 
			 Total  Children: short stay  Children: long stay  Elderly: short stay  Elderly: long stay  Other ages: secure unit  Other ages: short stay  Other ages: long stay 
			 2008-09  England 26,430 528 29 6,344 2,047 3,292 11,242 2,948 
			 2009-10  England 25,563 549 48 5,802 1,940 3,438 10,955 2,831 
			 2010-11 Quarter (Q) 1 England 23,501 - - - - - - - 
			 2010-11 Q2 England 22,911 - - - - - - - 
			 2010-11 Q3 England 23,740 - - - - - - - 
			  Source: Department of Health KH03 
		
	
	
		
			  Occupied 
			Mental illness 
			Total  Children: long stay  Elderly: short stay  Elderly: long stay  Other ages: secure unit  Other ages: short stay  Other ages: long stay 
			 2008-09  26,430 23 5,147 1,646 3,003 10,040 2,532 
			 2009-10  25,563 36 4,647 1,582 3,130 9,625 2,332 
			 2010-11 Q1 23,501 - - - - - - 
			 2010-11 Q2 22,911 - - - - - - 
			 2010-11 Q3 23,740 - - - - - - 
			  Source: Department of Health KH03

South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spends per head of population in the South Staffordshire primary care trust area.

Simon Burns: In 2009-10 South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) spent £1,500 per head of population. 2009-10 is the most recent financial year for which figures are available.
	 Notes:
	1. "How much his Department spends" has been interpreted as meaning the total revenue expenditure of the PCT (the net operating costs).
	2. The net operating cost is taken from the audited summarisation schedules of South Staffordshire PCT for 2009-10. This figure is divided by the PCT's resident population to derive the spend per head figure.

Sunscreens

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take in respect of the draft recommendation from the national Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that sun protection factor 15 is adequate protection against skin cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: On 26 January 2010, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its guidance "Skin cancer: prevention using public information, sun protection resources and changes to the environment". It is now for commissioners and clinicians to take account of the guidance.
	The guidance recommends that sunscreens worn should be 'broad spectrum' and have a minimum sun protection factor 15. 'Broad spectrum' sunscreens offer both UVA and UVB protection.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to support the big society initiative.

Paul Burstow: The Department has the coalition vision for a big society at the heart of its work. In health care, public health and social care, the big society vision has driven our work to help people take control over their lives, the services they use and communities they live in.
	The vision set out for the national health service, social care and public health puts patients, service users and carers at the heart of services they use and. in control of what they access-'no decision about me without me'. We are shifting power to professionals at the front line, through the development of general practitioner commissioning consortia. We are giving patients access to the information they need to take control of their own care.
	We are also continuing to support the voluntary sector to be well placed to contribute to big society. Our Financial Assistance Fund, announced on 28 February 2011 is providing an additional £3.6 million this year to organisations who are experiencing difficulties due the current economic situation. We will maintain investment in voluntary and social enterprise organisations through our Social Enterprise Investment Fund and other Department funding programmes to build the capacity and capability of the sector. These are critical organisations in achieving the largest, most vibrant social enterprise sector in the world.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

Simon Burns: The Department's volunteering policy supports its commitment to promoting employee involvement within the community it serves. The policy supports the equality and diversity agenda by providing opportunities for employees to increase their awareness of equality issues and work directly with disadvantaged groups in the local community. It also supports the Government's volunteering agenda in public services, particularly health and social care.
	The Department views volunteering as a developmental activity, which contributes to employees' life-long learning, by helping to enhance core skills such as leadership, team building, project management and problem-solving.
	The Department's policy on payroll giving is to encourage employees to consider payroll giving and to promote it as an easy and tax-efficient way to make donations to the charity of their choice.

CABINET OFFICE

Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what the five most popular mechanisms of charitable giving were in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of charitable giving on individual levels of happiness and well-being;
	(3)  what progress he is making in establishing social norms in charitable giving;
	(4)  what steps his Department is taking to encourage charitable giving by young children; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  if he will establish a mechanism to monitor the proportion of legacies which go to  (a) charities and  (b) families and friends;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the principal reasons for people not making charitable donations;
	(7)  what assessment he has made of the influence on giving of examples set by older members within families;
	(8)  if he will estimate the proportion of corporate giving arising from the  (a) pharmaceuticals,  (b) food retail and wholesale,  (c) investment services,  (d) banking and  (e) furnishing sector; and whether he has made an assessment of long-term trends in the proportion donated by each sector;
	(9)  whether he has made an assessment of the effect of corporate giving on company reputation;
	(10)  what information his Department holds on the international ranking of the UK in respect of  (a) corporate giving as share of GDP,  (b) individual giving as a share of GDP and  (c) assistance to strangers;
	(11)  if he will introduce measures to facilitate an increase in charitable giving through payroll arrangements in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector;

Nick Hurd: The Giving Green Paper, published by the Government in December 2010, contains references to, and sets out, evidence that the Government currently has on giving levels. It opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible using a variety of platforms and tools. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on Giving after this.

Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department holds on the number of individual charitable donors who have given more that £1 million in each year for which figures are available; and for how long his Department has collected information on levels of charitable donation by individuals.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not hold that information and does not collect information on charitable donation by individuals. The Citizenship Survey, run quarterly by the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2001 does contain information on the numbers of people who give money.

Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he plans to take to encourage business to promote charitable giving.

Nick Hurd: In Every Business Commits, the Government set out some of the ways business can promote and support giving. The Giving Green Paper opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible and have an impact. This consultation will close on 9 March 2011 and the Government will publish a White Paper on Giving after this.

Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what definition his Department uses of a corporate citizen in its Giving Green Paper.

Nick Hurd: The reference to "good 'corporate citizen'" was in the context of Department of Health initiatives. DH defines good corporate citizenship as:
	"social, economic and environmental considerations inform your decisions";
	and
	"your day to day activities contribute to sustainable development".

Charities: Internet

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the scope for greater use of websites across Government to raise the profile of charities which are working with the Government as part of the big society initiative.

Nick Hurd: The Giving Green Paper, published by the Government in December 2010, contains references to, and sets out, the Government's assessment of giving. It opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible using a variety of platforms and tools noting that Government are keen to use all their resources, including websites, to encourage giving. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on Giving after this.

Charities: Regulation

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government is taking to reduce the burden of regulation on charities.

Nick Hurd: Voluntary work is hampered by a thicket of bureaucracy that uses up time and money and causes frustration that can discourage volunteering.
	The Government are determined to cut this bureaucracy, which is why we have set up a Civil Society Red Tape Taskforce chaired by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts. The taskforce is addressing the question "what can we do to cut red tape for small organisations?" The taskforce is looking at a range of issues that we know cause difficulties for charities including funding, licensing, employment law, and insurance and will report in the spring.
	The Government will also be carrying out a review of the Charities Act 2006 later this year that will assess how the provisions of that Act are working and consider whether any changes are needed.

Civil Service

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what progress has been made on developing a civic service within the civil service; what role this will play in the big society initiative; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many civil servants in each Government Department have enrolled in the civic service programme as part of the big society initiative.

Nick Hurd: In May 2010, the coalition Government's programme for government stated that we will take a range of measures to encourage volunteering and involvement in social action. This included turning the civil service into a civic service, by making regular community service an element of civil service staff appraisals.
	On 17 February 2011 the Government announced that as part of the civic service initiative each civil servant will be encouraged to do at least one day of volunteering each year using special leave. Additional we announced that the civil service will aim to give 30,000 volunteering days per year. The civic service will begin from April 2011, from which point civil servants will be able to take part and enrol.
	The Civic service will play a key role in creating the big society, by encouraging social action among civil servants and enabling them to use their skills to support voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations.

Civil Service: Females

Helen Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of members of the senior civil service in each Government Department are women.

Francis Maude: The number of women in the senior civil service (SCS) in each Government Department and the percentage of the total number of each Department's SCS who are women (as at March 2010) are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Civil service Department/agency  Number of women in the senior civil service  Percentage of senior civil service 
			 Cabinet Office 56 41 
			 Central Office of Information 6 32 
			 Charity Commission 3 38 
			 Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission 7 24 
			 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service 20 53 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 12 36 
			 Department for Business Innovation and Skills 82 38 
			 Department for Children, Schools and Families 66 55 
			 Department for Communities and Local Government 45 39 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 16 39 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 51 31 
			 Department for International Development 32 34 
			 Department for Transport 60 28 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 115 38 
			 Department of Energy and Climate Change 16 24 
			 Department of Health 111 41 
			 ESTYN 1 33 
			 Export Credits Guarantee Department 1 8 
			 Food Standards Agency 12 41 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 12 20 
			 Government Communications Headquarters 9 19 
			 Government Equalities Office 5 63 
			 Government Offices for the Regions 29 43 
			 Health and Safety Executive 10 20 
			 HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 1 33 
			 HM Revenue and Customs 127 32 
			 HM Treasury 49 42 
			 Home Office 77 32 
			 Land Registry 9 31 
			 Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 51 41 
			 Ministry of Defence 54 20 
			 Ministry of Justice 92 36 
			 National Archives 2 33 
			 National Savings and Investments 3 25 
			 National School of Government 4 44 
			 Northern Ireland Office 5 25 
			 Office for Standards in Education 20 53 
			 Office of Fair Trading 17 37 
			 Office of Gas and Electricity Markets 12 39 
			 Office of Government Commerce 9 29 
			 Office of Rail Regulation 4 25 
			 Office of the Parliamentary Counsel 18 38 
			 Ofwat 2 29 
			 Ordnance Survey 2 29 
			 Postal Services Commission 0 0 
			 Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office 1 33 
			 Scottish Government 87 38 
			 Serious Fraud Office 1 17 
			 Treasury Solicitors Department 40 53 
			 UK Supreme Court 1 50 
			 United Kingdom Statistics Authority 14 30 
			 Welsh Assembly Government 55 38 
			 Senior civil service 1,534 35

Community Development

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what plans he has to recognise the efforts of civil servants who enrol in civic service schemes;
	(2)  which other Government Departments are participating in his Department's civic service scheme;
	(3)  if he will invite the House of Commons Commission to participate in his Department's civic service scheme;
	(4)  if he will invite hon. Members to participate in his Department's civic service scheme.

Nick Hurd: On 17 February 2011 the Government announced that as part of the Civic Service initiative each civil servant will be encouraged to do at least one day of volunteering each year using special leave. In addition, the Government announced that the civil service will aim to give 30, 000 volunteering days per year.
	The Civic Service will begin from April 2011 and officials in the Office for Civil Society are exploring ways of recognising the efforts of civil servants that volunteer their time. The volunteering opportunities created through the Civic Service will be available to all civil servants, apart from those in the devolved administrations who will have different arrangements. The Civic Service is wholly focused on encouraging civil servants to volunteer and will therefore not be extended to hon. Members.

Community Development

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's Giving Green Paper, what the location is of each  (a) community foundation and  (b) volunteer centre sponsored by his Department; and what their role is in the Big Society initiative.

Nick Hurd: We provide funding to Community Foundations through the Grassroots Grants programme, more details of this can found here: www.cdf.org.uk We provide funding to Volunteer Centres via:
	V-the National Young Volunteers Service:
	www.vinspired.com
	National Support Service-modernising volunteering strand:
	www.capacitybuilders.org.uk
	Volunteer Managers:
	www.capacitybuilders.org.uk
	Access to Volunteering Fund:
	www.accesstovolunteering.org
	All of these initiatives help make it easier for people to give their time to volunteer by giving better opportunities to potential volunteers and improving the quality of support available to charities, social enterprises and the voluntary sector to deliver great experiences. This is by making great opportunities more visible and supported. The big society is about supporting a culture where more people get involved.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of his Department's adherence to each of the principles of good employment practice set out in the Cabinet Office publication Principles of Good Employment Practice.

Francis Maude: Government recognise the importance and value of good employment practices in delivering public services. The Principles of Good Employment Practice in contracted out services are a flexible guide giving employers of contracted out public services the power to build a motivated workforce.
	The principles were published to share, encourage and safeguard good practice and they were developed from discussions with trade unions and suppliers. They set clear standards and give employers the freedom to provide terms for staff which are motivating and affordable and through this, better delivery of public services.
	Cabinet Office circulated the principles to all central Government Departments, via procurement and HR networks and asked Departments to disseminate the principles through their own networks and promote them where relevant in discussion with stakeholders.
	There will be a review of the application of the new principles through the Public Services Forum (PSF), a national forum chaired by me. The PSF brings together Government, public, private and voluntary sector employers and trade unions. The review will take place during 2011.
	The package of documents can also be accessed on the Cabinet Office website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/principles-good-employment-practice

Departmental Policy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what account he has taken of the Compact between the Government and Civil Society in policy development;
	(2)  with reference to the Compact, what meaningful engagement and partnership he has developed with the voluntary sector since the implementation of the big society initiative.

Nick Hurd: The Compact agreed between the coalition Government and civil society organisations in December 2010, aims to ensure that the Government and civil society organisations work effectively in partnership to achieve common goals and outcomes for the benefit of communities and citizens in England.
	Since May 2010, the Cabinet Office has published a number of consultations, formally seeking the views of civil society organisations in the development of policy, and also held informal events. These include: "Supporting a Stronger Civil Society"; the Giving Green Paper; the Modernising Commissioning Green Paper; and three summits at No. 10 on mutuals, the impact of the cuts, and public service reform.
	The Office for Civil Society is in the process of selecting strategic partners for 2011-14, ensuring that the sector's voice is represented in the development of government policy and programmes.

Departmental Policy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's document, the Compact, what specific improvements he has made under commitment 1.4 to ensure greater transparency by making data and information more accessible; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The ambition of this Government is to make the UK the most transparent and accountable Government in the world. This will enable the public to hold Government to account for their performance, create better value for money, stimulate growth, and improve public services.
	Since May 2010 a number of steps have been taken towards achieving this aim. Some of the new information made available includes: 'street-level' crime data and details of spending transactions over £25,000 for Government Departments and over £500 for local authorities. These and many other datasets are available on Department's individual websites and at:
	www.data.gov.uk
	A new website has been launched which details all central Government contracts and tenders worth over £10,000 and in April 2011 Departments will publish information strategies in their business plans, outlining what further information they will make available to the public, and by when. The Opening Public Services White Paper, due to be published in March, will set out further details on opening up new markets and challenging existing provision.

Departmental Policy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's document, the Compact, what progress has been made on commitment 1.2 to ensure CSOs are supported and resourced in a reasonable and fair manner where they are helping the Government fulfil its aims; how much funding has been allocated to achieve this aim; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The new Strategic Partners Transition programme will start in April 2011 and run for three years. The programme will fund key national representative civil society organisations (CSOs) to ensure that they can efficiently and effectively act as a conduit between government and wider frontline CSOs, communicating and helping to support and deliver the strategic policy of the Office for Civil Society. These organisations will support CSOs to contribute to the development of the big society.
	Other Departments-such as the Department for Education, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice similarly have funded strategic partners programmes, enabling CSOs to input into the development of policy and provide representative voice.

Departmental Policy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's document, the Compact, what progress his Department has made on commitment 1.3 to ensure that the Government collectively, through the Cabinet Office, recognises the need to resource national and local support and development organisations in order to assist CSOs with their capacity and capability to deliver positive outcomes; how much funding has been allocated to achieve this aim; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office will support voluntary and community organisations through the modernisation of sector development infrastructure so that it can provide appropriate support and advice for frontline organisations, increasing their effectiveness and helping them to achieve greater impact.
	The Cabinet Office is also supporting the development of an effective social investment market, including the creation of the Big Society Bank, to unlock new finance for social enterprises, charities and voluntary organisations.
	We are working with Big Lottery Fund on arrangements for making early investments with dormant accounts funds from mid-2011. We will provide more details about this in April 2011.

Employment: Glasgow

William Bain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of the number of couple households of one full-time worker and two children in  (a) Glasgow North East constituency,  (b) Glasgow,  (c) Scotland and  (d) the UK.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the number of couple households of one full-time worker and two children in (a) Glasgow North East constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK. (43682).
	The figures requested come from the Labour Force Survey household datasets, the most recent period available covers April to June 2010. Due to the specific nature of your request it is not possible to provide reliable estimates for Glasgow North East constituency or Glasgow local authority because of small sample sizes. However, the attached table shows estimates for Scotland and the UK.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty as different samples give different results. These estimates are such that there is 95 per cent certainty that from all samples possible they will lie within the lower and upper bounds.
	
		
			  Couple households( 1)  containing one person in full-time employment( 2)  and two children( 3)  in Scotland and the UK, April to June 2010 
			  Thousand 
			   Estimate  Lower bound( 4)  Upper bound( 4) 
			 UK 1,538 1,498 1,578 
			 Scotland 117 106 129 
			 (1) Households including at least one person aged 16-64. (2) Dependent children aged 0-18. (3) There are a small number of households where the full-time worker is a non-dependent child over the age of 16. (4) 95% confidence interval which means that from all samples possible there would be 95% certainty that the true estimate would lie within the lower and upper bounds.  Source: LFS household dataset

Financial Services: Halifax

Linda Riordan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate has been made of the proportion of people in Halifax employed in the banking and finance sector.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the proportion of people in Halifax employed in the banking and finance sector. (44551)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	The proportion of people employed in the banking and finance sector for the 12 month period ending in June 2010 in Halifax was 9.4%.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Government Departments

Claire Perry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what targets he has set in respect of the outsourcing of functions by Government Departments, non-departmental public bodies and agencies in each year of the spending review period; and what mechanism he will use to measure performance against these targets.

Francis Maude: The Government support greater diversity of provision in public services and want to see non-state providers from the private, independent and voluntary and community sectors play a bigger part in service provision. The Government believe that the talents and imaginations of providers in these sectors can stimulate innovation and improve results.
	Currently the Government are looking at how best to achieve greater diversity of provision in developing their Open Public Service White Paper. They will set out their approaches to specific challenges when that Paper is published later this year.

Mass Media

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has made an assessment of the potential effects of  (a) reading newspapers and  (b) watching television news on levels of civic engagement and participation.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office has not made an assessment of the potential effects of newspapers or watching television on levels of civic engagement. In December 2010 the Government published the Giving Green Paper, which sought to start a debate on how we can encourage more people to give their time. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on Giving after this.

New Businesses: Blackpool

Paul Maynard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses were started in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008,  (c) 2009 and  (d) 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many new businesses were started in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010 (43157).
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2002 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The table below contains the latest statistics available, which give the number of enterprise births for the ward areas that cover the new constituency of Blackpool North and Cleveleys for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Information relating to 2010 will be available following release of the latest Business Demography publication in November 2011.
	
		
			  Enterprise births in Blackpool and Cleveleys 2007-09 
			  Blackpool North and Cleveleys  Number 
			 2007 315 
			 2008 270 
			 2009 220

New Businesses: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses were started in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many new businesses were started in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The table below gives the number of enterprise births for the constituency of Dartford in the last five years that data are available for.
	
		
			  Enterprise births in Dartford constituency 2005-09 
			   Number 
			 2005 435 
			 2006 455 
			 2007 460 
			 2008 425 
			 2009 405

Office for Civil Society

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the  (a) budget and  (b) staffing levels are of the Office for Civil Society in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) each of the next four years.

Nick Hurd: Expenditure by the Office for Civil Society in 2010-11 is reported in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts. Note 11 of the accounts breaks down this expenditure by programme.
	The overall budget for the Office for Civil Society from 2011-12 to 2014-15 is £470 million. Expenditure over the next four years will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
	Staffing levels for each unit of the Cabinet Office are published on a regular basis on the Cabinet Office website:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Population: Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of the size of the Yemeni population in the UK.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your question asking what recent estimate has been made of the size of the Yemeni population in the UK (44258).
	The Office for National Statistics collects data on country of birth and nationality on the Annual Population Survey (APS) which is a household survey of residents of the UK. The latest estimates available are for the 12 month period July 2009 to June 2010. These data show there are 15,000 Yemeni nationals and 20,000 Yemeni born residents in the UK. The margins of error surrounding these estimates are +/- 5,000 and +/- 6,000 respectively.

Television: Voluntary Work

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average amount of time a UK citizen spent  (a) watching television and  (b) volunteering in each year for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The Giving Green Paper published in December 2010 included assessments from secondary sources on the amount of time spent on volunteering and watching television each week. Data from the 2005 Time Use survey suggests that the average person spends nearly 17 hours watching television each week. Data from the 2008-09 Citizenship Survey, conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government, suggests that people in England spend an average of one hour a week on voluntary work.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the Informal Ministerial Group on the Big Society and Localism has met; who attended each meeting; how long each meeting lasted; and what the outcomes were.

Nick Hurd: The group has met twice on 21 July 2010 and 28 October 2010.
	 The 21 July meeting lasted for 1 hour and the attendees were:
	Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Francis Maude MP (Chair)
	Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Eric Pickles MP
	Minister of State for Decentralisation, CLG, the right hon. Greg Clark MP
	Minister for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Nick Hurd MP
	Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Justine Greening MP
	Minister of State for Disabled People, DWP, Maria Miller MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, Crispin Blunt MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, MOD (Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Andrew Robathan MP
	Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, BIS, Edward Davey MP
	Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, DECC, Greg Barker MP
	Minister of State for Care Services, DH, Paul Burstow MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Fisheries, DEFRA, Richard Benyon MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, DFT, Norman Baker, MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Wales Office, David Jones MP
	Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Office, Hugo Swire MP
	Government Adviser on Big Society, Lord Wei
	Director General, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Rolande Anderson
	 The 28 October meeting lasted for 1.5 hours and the attendees were:
	Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Francis Maude MP (Chair)
	Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Eric Pickles MP
	Minister of State for Decentralisation, CLG, the right hon. Greg Clark MP
	Minister for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Nick Hurd MP
	Minister of State for Care Services, DH, Paul Burstow MP
	Minister of State for Children and Families, DFE, Sarah Teather MP
	Minister for Tourism and Heritage, DCMS, John Penrose MP
	Minister of State, DECC, Charles Hendry MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Fisheries, DEFRA, Richard Benyon MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, MoJ, Crispin Blunt MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities and Criminal Information, GEO, Lynne Featherstone MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, DFID, Stephen O'Brien MP
	Government Adviser on Big Society, Lord Wei
	Lord Victor Adebowale, CEO, Turning Point (LIS item only)
	Liz Meek, Director, Government Office for the North West (LIS item only)
	Commodore Bob Mansergh, MOD
	Director General, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Rolande Anderson
	Jane Bateman, BIS
	The outcomes of these meetings have been to share ideas and support progress on cross cutting-issues such as the role of the voluntary sector in service delivery, the progress of the big society in vanguard areas, and the compact between the voluntary sector and the state.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what papers on  (a) civic society,  (b) the big society and  (c) related issues his Department has issued since his appointment.

Nick Hurd: All papers published are within the public domain and can be accessed through the Cabinet Office web pages at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/topic/165

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on refreshing and renewing the commitments in the Compact document.

Nick Hurd: The coalition Government and Compact Voice launched the renewed Compact in December last year. At present, there are no further plans to refresh this agreement. However, as policy development and legislation progresses, the Compact will be monitored to ensure it is up to date and meaningful.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what resource his Department has allocated to support services provided to people specifically protected by legislation and other under-represented and disadvantaged groups under section 5.1 of the Compact document in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made towards establishing an equal and fair society as set out in the Compact between the Government and civil society organisations.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office has not allocated any specific resource for supporting services provided to people specifically protected by legislation and other under-represented and disadvantaged groups. However, the Office for Civil Society works closely with the Government Equalities Office who are also represented on the Informal Ministerial Group on the Big Society and Localism.
	Assessing impact and accessibility to groups working with people specifically protected by legislation is considered at the design stage of all Office for Civil Society policy and programmes to advance equality and ensure a voice for under-represented groups.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which organisations his Department consulted in developing its policy on future funding to voluntary organisations in accordance with paragraph 2.4 of the Compact between Government and civil society organisations; what feedback his Department has given to the consultees in accordance with paragraph 2.5 of the Compact; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that policy on local efforts to inspire and encourage social action and to empower communities in accordance with paragraph 2.2 of the Compact.

Nick Hurd: In July last year, civil society organisations were invited to contribute ideas on how savings could best be made as part of the sector challenge announced by the Minister for Civil Society. In November, 20 sector organisations were invited to a summit at Number 11 on the back of this exercise to discuss input into policy development.
	The strategy for building a stronger civil society was published in October last year. This strategy set out key objectives including getting more resources into the sector through initiatives such as big society bank.
	A number of consultations that have an impact on the future funding landscape for the sector, have been published including: "Supporting a Stronger Civil Society; Modernising Commissioning; a Giving green paper", as well as "Growing the Social Investment Market-a vision and strategy". Responses to these consultations are still being considered.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made towards establishing clear arrangements for managing changes to programmes and services as set out in the Compact between the Government and civil society organisations;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made towards establishing responsive and high-quality programmes and services as set out in the Compact between the Government and civil society organisations;
	(3)  what progress his Department has made towards establishing effective and transparent design and development of policies, programmes and public services as set out in the Compact between the Government and civil society organisations.

Nick Hurd: The renewed Compact between the coalition Government and civil society organisations sets out shared principles and commitments for mutually beneficial partnership working. The outcomes in the Compact are joint outcomes that the coalition government will work in partnership with civil society organisations to achieve.
	Beyond this, the Compact sets a framework for what is expected of Government Departments, but it does not prescribe how individual Departments should be achieving the objectives. No one size fits all and Departments will work with civil society organisations to achieve their strategic objectives in a way that is consistent with the Compact.
	The Compact is not a bureaucratic or regulatory device that is monitored. However, for the first time, an accountability framework has been published alongside the renewed Compact and this can be found on the Cabinet Office website. This includes an inquiry into the implementation of the Compact by the National Audit Office. This report will be presented to Parliament.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made towards establishing a strong, diverse and independent civil society as set out in the Compact between the Government and civil society organisations.

Nick Hurd: The vision of this coalition Government is for civil society organisations to be independent, resilient and more influential in shaping a stronger sense of society and improving people's lives.
	A consultation on supporting a stronger civil society ended in January this year and responses are currently being considered. Through the modernisation of sector development infrastructure, appropriate support and advice for frontline organisations can be provided, increasing their effectiveness and helping them to achieve greater impact. Through "Growing the Social Investment Market-a vision and strategy", published in February 2011, new finance for social enterprises, charities and voluntary organisations is being unlocked for greater independence and sustainability.

Transition Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's press release of 15 February 2011, on the Transition Fund, what the evidential basis is for the statement that 75 per cent. of charities receive no funding from the state.

Nick Hurd: The evidential basis of the statement that 75% of charities receive no funding from the state is the NCVO Civil Society Almanac 2010, which estimates that 78% of general charities do not receive any income from statutory sources.

Voluntary Organisations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on the  (a) membership and  (b) establishment of the philanthropy ambassador programme in relation to the big society initiative.

Nick Hurd: We are consulting on a possible philanthropy ambassadors programme as part of the Green Paper process. More information will be available when we publish the Giving White Paper in the spring.

Voluntary Organisations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what long-term trends in levels of donations to charitable trusts and foundations his Department has identified;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the extent of spare capacity within the Government estate that could be used for voluntary and community groups as part of developing the big society initiative;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the role of  (a) social and  (b) traditional media in promoting (i) giving and (ii) volunteering as part of his Department's work in developing the big society initiative;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the potential role of  (a) time banking and  (b) complementary currencies in promoting the big society;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the role of peer-to-peer lending in developing the big society; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of charitable giving which was directed to  (a) medical research,  (b) children and young people,  (c) overseas aid,  (d) hospitals and hospices,  (e) animal welfare,  (f) religious organisations,  (g) disabled people,  (h) homeless people,  (i) health,  (j) education,  (k) environment,  (l) sports and  (m) arts purposes in the last 10 years.

Nick Hurd: The Giving Green Paper, published by the Government in December 2010, contains references to, and sets out, the Government's assessment of giving levels. It opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible using a variety of platforms and tools. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on Giving after this.

Voluntary Organisations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) public and  (b) private sector workers who (i) donated money to charity and (ii) gave time volunteering in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The Government do not collect data on the proportion of public and/or private sectors workers that have donated to charity or given time. The nearest available data are from the 2007 Cabinet Office funded report 'Helping Out, the national survey of volunteering and charitable giving.' The report can be found at:
	www.ivr.org.uk/evidence-bank/evidence-pages/Helping+Out+-+A+national+survey+of+volunteering +and+charitable+giving
	The information is contained in Chapter 9-Employee volunteering.

Voluntary Organisations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the median amount given in charitable donations by UK adults was in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Hurd: The Government do not hold this information.

Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions his Department has had with Compact Voice on the  (a) past,  (b) current and  (c) future levels of Government funding for the voluntary sector.

Nick Hurd: The Compact outlines undertakings for Government and Civil Society organisations on partnership working-effective and transparent development and management of policy, programmes and funding. Details of Government spending on the voluntary and community sector as a whole is a matter for individual departments and not subject to agreement with Compact Voice.
	However, Cabinet Office officials have met with Compact Voice to discuss their funding settlement over the next spending review period 2011-2015 which includes a significant increase in funding on the previous spending review period.
	Furthermore, by making details of public spending more transparent, in particular spending on the voluntary and community sector, the coalition Government are making it easier for citizens and community organisations to challenge and hold Government to account.

Voluntary Organisations: Training

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department has taken together with Compact Voice to provide training and advice for the voluntary sector on using the compact.

Nick Hurd: The Office for Civil Society (OCS), based within the Cabinet Office, represents the Government in the compact agreement. Civil society organisations are represented by Compact Voice. OCS funds Compact Voice to promote, educate and increase awareness and use of the compact within the sector.
	Since the launch of the renewed compact in December 2010, Compact Voice has emailed the document to over 44,000 charities and sector organisations. They have engagement officers who are responsible for providing training and advice on the compact to the sector. They support key local compact champions in raising awareness of the compact and produce a number of briefings for the sector. In addition, they are hosting three conferences in March 2011, bringing together local and national players to explore better partnership working between government and civil society organisations.

Voluntary Work

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what factors his Department has identified as barriers to people giving more time to volunteering;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on participation rates in volunteering in the area of  (a) education,  (b) religion,  (c) sports and exercise,  (d) health and disabilities,  (e) children and young people,  (f) animal welfare,  (g) local community neighbourhood or citizen groups,  (h) hobbies, recreation and social groups,  (i) overseas aid disaster relief,  (j) elderly people,  (k) conservation and environment,  (l) arts and museums and  (m) social welfare in the last 10 years.

Nick Hurd: The Government's Citizenship Survey provides data on barriers to formal volunteering and data on the levels of volunteering by type of organisation helped.
	The data are available at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchandstatistics/statistics/subject/cohesionstatistics

Voluntary Work

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many UK citizens have received big society awards to date.

Nick Hurd: The big society awards were set up by the Prime Minister in November 2010. The aim is to acknowledge individuals and organisations across the UK that demonstrate the big society in their work or activities. In so doing, the aim is also to galvanise others to follow.
	11 awards have now been made to date-details of these awards can all be found on the No. 10 website at:
	www.number10.gov.uk/bigsocietyawards

Voluntary Work

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of long-term trends in the motivating factors for people volunteering in  (a) formal and  (b) informal settings.

Nick Hurd: The information being sought is in the public domain and can be found in the Government's Citizenship Survey. The Citizenship Survey provides historical data on trends in formal and informal volunteering. The survey includes data on motivations for formal volunteering, but not for informal volunteering.
	The data are available at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchandstatistics/statistics/subject/cohesionstatistics

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

BBC World Service: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely savings to accrue from changes to the Grant-in-Aid funding to the BBC World Service resulting in the closure of the  (a) Albanian,  (b) Macedonian,  (c) Portuguese for Africa,  (d) Serbian and  (e) English for the Caribbean services.

Jeremy Browne: According to the figures provided by the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service, the costs of the five language services are:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Albanian 947,919 
			 Macedonian 423,549 
			 Portuguese for Africa 555,131 
			 Serbian 1,034,025 
			 English for the Caribbean 364,781 
		
	
	The savings made from the closure of these services will contribute to the overall savings the Word Service will make under the terms of the spending review.

BBC World Service: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely savings to accrue from the BBC World Service ceasing short wave radio distribution  (a) in Hindi,  (b) in Indonesian,  (c) in Kyrgyz,  (d) in Nepali,  (e) in Swahili and  (f) to the Great Lakes.

Jeremy Browne: These decisions were made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service as part of their managerial independence, as set out in the Broadcasting Agreement between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the BBC World Service. Therefore, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold the figures for the likely savings from the ceasing of these short-wave services.

Christchurch: Earthquake

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response his Department made to the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch; and what assistance it has given to the Government of New Zealand since the event.

Jeremy Browne: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to New Zealand Foreign Minister McCully on 22 February 2011 to convey his sincere condolences for all those who have lost their lives, and for the terrible damage caused by the earthquake.
	Staff from our High Commission in Wellington, led by our High Commissioner, deployed to Christchurch within 12 hours of the earthquake to liaise with the New Zealand authorities and provide consular assistance to British nationals. In response to a request from the New Zealand Government, the UK immediately sent a fully self sufficient search and rescue team of 63 experts drawn from the British emergency fire and rescue services.
	In addition, the New Zealand Government has accepted the UK offer of support in the process of Disaster Victim Identification. A ten man team specially tailored to support the New Zealand authorities, has flown out and will provide essential support and expertise in helping to identify any potential British victims and bolster the New Zealand authorities in their wider identification process.

Departmental Manpower

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) actual and  (b) full-time equivalent staff have left his Department's employ since May 2010.

Alistair Burt: Approximately 170 UK-based employees have left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since May 2010. This excludes staff coming to the FCO on loan from other Government Departments and returning to their parent Departments at the end of these loans.
	We do not hold data centrally on the number of locally engaged staff leaving and this could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people were employed in his Department on  (a) 1 January 2005 and  (b) 1 January 2011.

Alistair Burt: The number of staff in 2005 was roughly the same as now: approximately 5,000 UK-based employees and approximately 10,000 locally engaged staff. For operational and security reasons we cannot provide a more detailed breakdown.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he is responsible

Alistair Burt: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Hezbollah

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Syrian counterpart on weapons transferred to Hezbollah.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, during his visit to Damascus in January 2011, raised the issue of Hizballah's weapons with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem, where he highlighted the dangers to stability in the region in allowing weapons smuggling to Hizballah.
	We continue to press for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), most notably UNSCR 1701, which calls upon Hizballah to disarm, and our ambassador in Damascus regularly raises the issue of Hizballah's weapons with the Syrian Government.

Hezbollah

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the quantity of weapons smuggled from Iran to  (a) Hezbollah and  (b) Hamas since 2006.

Alistair Burt: We continue to monitor closely Iranian support to Hezbollah and Hamas, including supply of weapons. We have consistently stressed the negative impact this has on stability in the Middle East and condemn it in all its forms.
	We assess that since the 2006 conflict with Israel, Hezbollah has now been rearmed to the extent that its capabilities exceed those in 2006. We assess that Iran is the most significant provider of weapons, training and funding to Hezbollah.
	We assess that Hamas has rebuilt at least some of the capabilities it lost in the 2008-09 Gaza conflict. Since then, Hamas may have acquired from Iran both a number of longer range rockets with the potential to reach Tel Aviv and some advanced anti-tank guided weapons. We assess that Iran is a significant provider of weapons and funds to the group.
	We regularly raise this issue with senior political leaders in the region. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised arms transfers to Hezbollah with President Assad when he visited Syria on 27 January 2011.
	We will continue to push for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions which call for the disarmament of these armed groups and prohibit weapons transfers and support the UN sanctions committees pursuing and investigating sanctions violations.

Hezbollah

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on Hezbollah's military capability in southern Lebanon.

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned by reports of weapons transfers to Hezbollah, including Hezbollah's own claims that it possesses significant military capabilities.
	The 31 January 2011 EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted Conclusions recalling its commitment to the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, which call for the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militia.

Hezbollah

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to seek the disarmament of Hezbollah in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Alistair Burt: We continue to press for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), most notably UNSCR 1701, which calls upon Hezbollah to disarm.
	During his visit to Damascus in January the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), the issue of Hezbollah's weapons with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem, where he highlighted the dangers to stability in the region in allowing weapons smuggling to Hezbollah.
	The Prime Minister discussed UNSCR 1701 with Prime Minister Hariri during his visit to the UK in November 2010, underlining the need for Hezbollah to disarm to ensure the stability of Lebanon.
	Our embassies in Damascus and Beirut continue to press these points.

Iran

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers in his Department have met officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2009.

Alistair Burt: We have had various contacts with Iran since 2009 in London, Tehran and in the course of international business, including negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. Principal contacts at official level have been through our ambassador and his staff at our embassy in Tehran and between Foreign and Commonwealth Office senior officials and the Iranian ambassador and chargé d'affaires in London. At ministerial level, successive Foreign Secretaries and Ministers of State for the Middle East have met with Iranian Ministers and senior officials. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), met former Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, at the UN General Assembly in September 2010.

Iran: Nuclear Power

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) his Israeli counterpart and  (b) his EU counterparts on (i) Iran's nuclear capabilities and (ii) the effectiveness of existing sanctions on Iran.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), regularly discusses Iran's nuclear programme and the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran with his Israeli and EU counterparts. Officials also have regular discussions with Israeli and EU counterparts on Iran's armed forces.
	These discussions are informed by the regular reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which continue to highlight continued Iranian non-compliance with its obligations. International sanctions, including those adopted by the UN and the EU, show the strength of international concern about Iran's nuclear programme. It is clear that these sanctions are having an impact. Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to acquire goods of proliferation concern and is also finding it harder to access international finance. But, following Iranian behaviour at the latest round of EU3+3 talks in Istanbul, it is also clear that the pressure on Iran needs to increase.

Iran: Nuclear Power

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his  (a) Israeli,  (b) Egyptian,  (c) Jordanian and  (d) Saudi Arabian counterpart on the Iranian Government's refusal to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect non-declared nuclear facilities.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had a number of conversations with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi counterparts-including during his recent visit to the region-about Iran's continued non-compliance with its obligations towards the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As numerous reports from the IAEA Director General have shown, Iran is failing to co-operate fully with the Agency on a range of issues, including denying full access to sites and personnel related to the nuclear programme.

Iran: Nuclear Power

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the Iranian Government's refusal to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect non-declared nuclear facilities.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had a number of conversations with his EU counterparts about Iran's continued non-compliance with its obligations towards the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As numerous reports from the IAEA Director General have shown, Iran is failing to co-operate fully with the IAEA on a range of issues, including denying full access to sites and personnel related to the nuclear programme. Consequently, the UK agreed with EU colleagues to implement a range of further sanctions against Iran adopted following UN Security Council Resolution 1929.

Iran: Nuclear Power

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for UK policy on Iran of the recent statement by the Iranian President that the country's right to nuclear capabilities is non-negotiable.

Alistair Burt: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has said, we do not challenge Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear programme. However with this right comes responsibilities. Successive reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) highlight the areas where Iran continues to refuse to co-operate with the UN, the IAEA or comply with its safeguards obligations. Alongside our international partners, we remain committed to seeking a diplomatic solution to this issue. However, until Iran chooses to engage seriously and take steps to resolve the concerns of the international community, the pressure on it will only increase.

Iran: Sanctions

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) his Israeli counterpart and  (b) his EU counterparts on (i) Iran's conventional military capabilities and (ii) the effectiveness of the sanctions regime against Iran.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses Iran's nuclear programme and the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran with his Israeli and EU counterparts. Our officials also have regular discussions with Israeli and EU counterparts on Iran's armed forces.
	These discussions are informed by the regular reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which continue to highlight continued Iranian non-compliance with its obligations. International sanctions, including those adopted by the UN and the EU, show the strength of international concern about Iran's nuclear programme. It is clear that these sanctions are having an impact. Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to acquire goods of proliferation concern and is also finding it harder to access international finance. But, following Iranian behaviour at the latest round of EU3+3 talks in Istanbul, it is also clear that the pressure on Iran needs to increase.

Libya: British Nationals Abroad

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the number of British citizens remaining in Libya.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 3 March 2011,  Official Report, columns 35-36WS, on Libya: Consular Response in which I updated the House on the efforts the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made to help British nationals depart Libya.

Libya: British Nationals Abroad

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many aircraft his Department has chartered for the purposes of evacuating UK nationals from Tripoli since 15 February 2011.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 3 March 2011,  Official Report, column 35-36WS on Libya: Consular Response in which I updated the House on the efforts the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made to help British nationals depart Libya.

Libya: Politics and Government

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the political situation in Libya; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: As the Prime Minister said in the House on 28 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 23-26, Britain has taken on a leading role in co-ordinating international pressure to isolate the Qadhafi regime and ensure that anyone responsible for abuses in Libya will be held to account. On 24 February 2011, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss measures such as the now agreed UN Security Resolution which condemned Colonel Qadhafi's actions and demanded an immediate end to the violence and killing of protestors. The Secretary of State met Secretary of State Clinton at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 28 February 2011, during which both the Secretary of State and Secretary Clinton called for Libya's suspension from the Council.

Libya: Politics and Government

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to prevent the use of foreign mercenaries against Libyan civilians.

Alistair Burt: As the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House on 28 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 23-26, the UK is taking a lead on co-ordinating international pressure to isolate the Qadhafi regime, deprive it of money, shrink its power and ensure that anyone responsible for abuses in Libya will be held to account. For example, the UK instigated a strong UN Security Resolution which was passed unanimously on 26 February and called on the Libyan Government to meet its responsibility to protect its population and imposed a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. On 28 February, the EU agreed a Council decision imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on the Libyan regime which came into force on 3 March.
	We will continue to work with the international community to put pressure on Colonel Qadhafi to stop the violence and to step down. As the Prime Minister has said we should also prepare for all eventualities, particularly if Colonel Qadhafi strikes out against the Libyan people. We are therefore doing contingency planning and preparation so that we are ready to respond very quickly to the situation on the ground as required.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answers of 10 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 434-5W, on the Middle East: peace negotiations, what assessment he has made of the progress made by  (a) Lebanon,  (b) Tunisia,  (c) Morocco and  (d) Algeria in advancing (i) regional cooperation and (ii) their relations with Israel.

Alistair Burt: The European External Action Service and European Commission publish annual European Neighbourhood Policy reports covering all partner countries, including Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. While we do not have a fixed date for publication in 2011, last year's reports were published in May 2010.
	The latest assessments by country are at:
	http://eeas.europa.eu/countries/index_en.htm
	Until annual European Neighbourhood Policy report is published we are unable to make an assessment on the progress made.

North Africa: Foreign Relations

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of the UK's relations with countries in North Africa.

Alistair Burt: holding answer 28 February 2011
	 The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has followed recent events in North Africa very closely. Relations between the UK and countries in North Africa need to be examined again in the light of these events. The Government believe that the long-term stability of the region is in the UK's national interest.
	Reform is a home-grown process and leadership must come from within countries. We cannot and should not dictate who is in power in the region. However, as the Prime Minister said in his statement on 28 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 23-26, we must not remain silent in our belief that freedom and the rule of law are what best guarantee human progress and economic success. We can play a positive role in supporting countries taking forward economic, social and political reforms which can meet the legitimate needs and aspirations of North Africa's people, and helping to put in place the building blocks for more open societies. The Prime Minister also made clear that we need to link our development assistance to real progress in promoting more open societies.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the first follow-up meeting of the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council will take place; and what the Government's objectives are for this meeting.

Alistair Burt: France announced last year that it would host the next meeting of the five nuclear weapon states as a follow-up to the P5 conference on confidence building measures towards nuclear disarmament hosted by the UK in September 2009. The Paris Conference will take place in summer 2011; the date for the meeting has not yet been announced. The Government are committed to building on the progress made in building confidence between the five nuclear weapon states at the 2009 London Conference, and look forward to further engaging with our P5 partners in implementing the forward-looking Action Plan on disarmament agreed at the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010.

Syria: Human Rights

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Syrian counterpart on Syria's human rights record.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised Syria's human rights record with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem during his visit to Damascus in January 2011.
	We also continue to raise human rights issues at every available opportunity, at both ministerial and official level, with the Syrian authorities as demonstrated by my recent public statement on the imprisonment of the 19 year old Syrian blogger, Tal al-Mallouhi. We also look to increase the impact of our statements by working closely with EU partners in securing EU statements on human rights such as recent statements on Tal al-Mallouhi and human rights defender, Muhannad al-Hassani.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Official Residences

Jon Trickett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the official residence at his disposal in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nicholas Clegg: Chevening House is owned and administered by a private trust. Some residual costs are met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

TREASURY

Aggregates Levy

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider including high quality granite aggregate as an exempt product in respect of the aggregates levy.

Justine Greening: The aggregates levy was introduced in 2002 to internalise the environmental costs of aggregate extraction and to encourage the use of recycled aggregate and alternative materials rather than virgin extracted aggregate. All decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.

Banks: EU Action

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects negotiations on EU banking liquidity rules under Basel III provisions to be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The European Commission has announced that it expects to adopt a proposal to amend the Capital Requirements Directive by early summer 2011 and we expect this to include the introduction of an EU banking liquidity framework. We expect the negotiation to be concluded in time to meet the G20 endorsed timeline of implementation into our national laws and regulations starting on 1 January 2013 and being fully phased in by 1 January 2019.
	During this transitional period the Basel Committee has agreed that both the liquidity coverage ratio and the net stable funding ratio will be subject to an observation period and will include a review clause to address any unintended consequences. After an observation period beginning in 2011, the liquidity coverage ratio, including any revisions, will be introduced on 1 January 2015. The net stable funding ratio, including any revisions, will move to a minimum standard by 1 January 2018. We expect the European Commission to conduct its own reviews appropriate to this time scale.

Banks: Regulation

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of the banking sector on the offsetting of losses incurred since autumn 2008 against banks' tax liabilities.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers have met with a wide range of interested parties to discuss various aspects of financial sector taxation since the formation of the Government.

Banks: Regulation

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Sir John Vickers was consulted during negotiations on Project Merlin; and whether any correspondence was exchanged between him and HM Treasury.

Mark Hoban: From the start of the Merlin discussions the Government was clear with all the parties that nothing, including references to a level playing, pre-judges the outcomes of the Independent Commission on Banking. The Independent Commission on Banking was informed of the reference to the Commission in the Government's response to the agreement undertaken by the banks' in Project Merlin.

Business: Government Assistance

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to address the finance gap for small and medium-sized enterprises; and whether the Venture Capital Trusts scheme is included in these plans;
	(2)  what his Department's estimate is of the change to the size of the finance gap facing small and medium-sized enterprises since the start of the economic downturn; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the finance gap on the UK economy.

David Gauke: The Government are committed to ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can access a diverse range of sources of finance, including equity finance, to invest and grow.
	We are aware that there continues to be an 'equity gap' ranging up to £2 million for SMEs seeking early-stage finance and up to £10 million for those seeking growth capital. This financing gap has deepened over the past two years, with early-stage investment, in particular, decreasing by 32% in 2009.
	Improving the supply of growth capital would allow funds to be released for capital investment as well as for investment in IP, software and skills.
	To address this, we announced in the "Financing Business Growth" paper last November, an additional £200 million of funding for the Enterprise Capital Funds programme for equity finance of up to £2 million to small innovative companies with high growth potential. We have also worked with the UK banks to set up a £2.5 billion bank-led Business Growth Fund for growth capital between £2 million and £10 million for established businesses.
	In addition, the Government have in place two tax schemes to incentivise equity investment into small companies, namely the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) scheme. Since their introduction, the schemes have incentivised an estimated £11 billion of investment in over 17,000 companies.

Children: Day Care

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the monetary value of funds provided for assistance with child care costs through the tax credit system in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

David Gauke: The cost to the public purse of child care provision provided through the child care element of working tax credits is around £1.75 billion in 2009-10. For 2010-11 the figure is also around £1.75 billion.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he is responsible.

Justine Greening: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts for HM Treasury and its agencies already helps enable the public to hold Departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

Departmental Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons persons not employed by Government Departments or agencies are issued with passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises.

Justine Greening: It is sometimes necessary for a Government Department to make use of the knowledge or skills of external specialists or contractors. These specialists or contractors may have to spend considerable amounts of time at government premises such that continual escorting and supervision becomes impractical. In such circumstances, consideration may be given to building passes being issued to them, subject to their having an appropriate level of security clearance.

Devolution: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much end year flexibility remained unspent by the Scottish Government in the latest period for which figures are available.

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury published data for all UK Government Departments including the devolved Administrations in the 2009/10 Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 7911).
	Details of EYF draw downs were included in written ministerial statements made at times during supplementary estimate rounds. Information on Scottish Executive EYF draw-down for 2010-11 was detailed in a written ministerial statement made on 14 February 2011,  Official Report, columns 63-64WS.
	Following the drawdown of EYF in 2010/11 spring supplementary estimate, SE have a balance of undrawn EYF of £26,214,000 resource cash and £8,000,000 resource depreciation.

Hedge Funds

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer has put to hedge funds in the latest period for which figures are available; to how many hedge funds it makes payments; and how much it received from hedge funds in each year since the first such payment was made.

Mark Hoban: The Treasury operates four Exchequer Funds: the Consolidated Fund, National Loans Fund, the Contingencies Fund and the Exchange Equalisation Account. The Debt Management Office operate a further Exchequer Fund-the Debt Management Account. These Funds do not and have not transacted with any hedge funds.

Income Tax: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the preparedness of HM Revenue and Customs to implement the proposed Scottish rate of income tax.

David Gauke: HMRC is confident that it can deliver a Scottish rate of income tax. The facility to do this is already largely built into employers and HMRC's IT systems for the Scottish Variable Rate. The Scottish rate of income tax is planned to take effect from 2016-17 which gives five years for HMRC to discuss the detailed implementation with the representative bodies, and complete the design work and the remaining development.

Income Tax: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of business groups in Scotland on the operation of the proposed Scottish rate of income tax.

David Gauke: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I jointly chair a High Level Group on the implementation of the Scotland Bill. Membership includes representatives from CBI Scotland, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
	The group also brings in expertise from bodies such as Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, the Law Society Scotland and the payroll profession. The High Level Group has met three times since July 2010.

Revenue and Customs: Advisory Services

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanism he has put in place to ensure that staff who advise the public on child tax credits are in possession of regularly updated information on changes to the administration of such credits.

David Gauke: Advisers working on the Tax Credits Helpline have access to on-line support and advice tools to help them in answering customers' questions. This is kept up to date and advisers are informed when changes are made to the tax credit system or when this guidance is amended.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when HM Revenue and Customs plans to reply to the letters from John Brace, a constituent of the hon. Member for Birkenhead.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs replied to Mr Brace on 16 November 2010 and on the 11 January 2011. A further response was sent to the right hon. Member about this constituent, on 25 February 2011.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Alistair Darling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Financial Services Authority to publish its report on the conduct of Royal Bank of Scotland prior to its failure in October 2008.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 28 February 2011
	In his letter to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee of 15 December 2010, Lord Turner, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), proposed producing a publishable report on lessons to be learned both from the decisions made by the Board and Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and from any failings of the supervisory approach in place at that time. In order to publish such a report, the FSA consider they would need permission from RBS and other individuals to use confidential information provided by them in the course of the supervisory investigations now concluded, as well as those to whom the information relates.
	Lord Turner suggested delivering the report to the Government and the Treasury Select Committee by the end of March. The Government welcome this proposal and look forward to the FSA's publication in the spring.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue to the Exchequer from  (a) tax and  (b) national insurance contributions attributable to the solar photovoltaic industry since the date of implementation of the feed-in tariff scheme.

David Gauke: The information required to answer this question is not available.

Taxation

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the proportion of revenue raised from  (a) direct,  (b) indirect and  (c) all taxation upon (i) non-retired and (ii) retired households in each income decile in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his estimate is of the proportion of revenue raised from (a) direct, (b) indirect and (c) all taxes for (i) non-retired and (ii) retired households in each income decile in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (43084).
	The ONS does not publish data on the proportion of revenue raised from taxes by income decile but does estimate the average amount of direct and indirect taxes paid per household, per year. These estimates, for both retired and non-retired households, are based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey and are reported in the ONS article "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income". The latest data for 2008/09 are in the attached table.
	
		
			  Table 1: Average direct( 1)  and indirect( 2)  taxes by decile groups of non-retired and retired( 3)  households, 2008-09, United Kingdom 
			  Average per household (£ per year) 
			   Decile groups ranked by equivalised disposable income( 4)  
			   Bottom  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  Top  All households 
			  Non-retired households
			 Number of households (Thousand)   19,096 
			 Total direct taxes 1,243 1,879 3,406 4,860 6,908 7,811 9,947 12,577 15,591 25,485 8,971 
			 Total indirect taxes 3,338 3,654 4,407 4,627 5,063 5,341 6,037 6,618 6,717 8,461 5,426 
			 All taxes 4,581 5,533 7,813 9,487 11,971 13,152 15,984 19,195 22,308 33,946 14,397 
			  Retired households
			 Number of households (Thousand)   6,778 
			 Total direct taxes 1,083 806 1,174 1,066 1,261 1,318 1,819 2,406 3,160 7,195 2,129 
			 Total indirect taxes 2,028 1,818 2,116 2,372 2,352 2,371 2,885 3,036 3,371 5,738 2,809 
			 All taxes 3,111 2,624 3,290 3,438 3,613 3,689 4,704 5,442 6,531 12,933 4,938 
			 (1) Includes income tax less tax credits, employees' National Insurance contributions, council tax and Northern Ireland rates less council tax benefit/rates rebates. (2) Includes duties on alcoholic drinks, tobacco, petrol, oil, betting; VAT; customs (import) duties; motor vehicle duties; air passenger duties; insurance premium tax; driving licenses; television licenses; stamp duties; Camelot-payments to National Lottery Distribution Fund, and estimated Intermediate taxes. (3) Retired households are those where the combined income of retired members amounts to at least half the total gross income of the household, where a retired person is defined as anyone who describes themselves as 'retired' or anyone over minimum national Insurance pension age describing themselves as 'unoccupied' or 'sick or injured but not intending to seek work'. (4) The income decile groups are constructed using disposable household income, adjusted (or "equalised") for household size and composition, as a proxy for standard of living. The decile groups are constructed separately for non-retired and retired households using the McClements equalisation scale.  Source: Living Costs and Food survey, Office for National Statistics

VAT: Charities

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much valued added tax was paid on goods and services by  (a) charities and  (b) charities providing healthcare services in each year since 2005.

David Gauke: Information is not available to assess accurately the amount of VAT paid by charities.

Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to  (a) volunteer and  (b) donate via payroll giving.

Justine Greening: The Treasury recognises the benefits of volunteering and is committed to supporting staff who become involved in voluntary activities. To support this, HM Treasury staff may take one day paid special leave a year in order to undertake any work in the voluntary sector.
	The Treasury provides information on payroll giving to staff on its internal website. In addition representatives from Payroll Giving In Action visit HM Treasury on an annual basis to promote payroll giving.

Working Tax Credit

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of changing the eligibility threshold for working tax credit for couples from 24 hours worked per week to 16 hours worked per week in each of the next four years.

David Gauke: The change in the eligibility threshold for working tax credit for couples with children from 16 hours per week to 24 hours per week announced at the Spending Review 2010 is due to take place in April 2012. The saving to the Exchequer published in the spending review document is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Saving (£ million) 
			 2012-13 510 
			 2013-14 510 
			 2014-15 510 
		
	
	More information can be found at the following link:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_policycostings.pdf

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education: English Language

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of people studying English as a result of the reduction in public funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages courses.

John Hayes: Under the new arrangements, full Government funding will be provided for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to unemployed people in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance or in the Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity) Group, where English language skills have been identified as a barrier to entering employment. We will also continue to pay 50% of ESOL course fees for people who are settled here.
	The Equality Impact Assessment published alongside Skills for Sustainable Growth (November, 2010) found that, at the aggregate level, there are unlikely to be disproportionate impacts on protected groups. A separate assessment of how the changes may affect ESOL learners is currently being carried out by this Department.

Adult Education: English Language

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the reduction in funding for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses on those receiving funding for such courses in the work place;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in departmental expenditure to funding for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses on the promotion of the speaking of English by non-British persons;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the reduction in his funding for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses on the promotion of the speaking of English;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the effects of his Department's reduction of its funding for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: Under the new arrangements, full Government funding will be provided for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to unemployed people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or in the Employment and support allowance (work-related activity) group, where English language skills have been identified as a barrier to entering employment. We will also continue to pay 50% of ESOL course fees for people who are settled here.
	From August 2011, the Government will no longer fund ESOL courses delivered in the workplace. It is right that workers from overseas, or their employers, should meet the costs of any additional English-language training necessary to enable them to take up jobs here. This change will not affect learners who have already begun ESOL courses
	The equality impact assessment published alongside "Skills for Sustainable Growth" (November 2010) found that, at the aggregate level, there are unlikely to be disproportionate impacts on protected groups. A separate assessment of how the changes may affect ESOL learners is currently being carried out by this Department.

Adult Education: English Language

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to publish the equality impact assessment on the Government's plans for the future funding of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses.

John Hayes: holding answer 28 February 2011
	An assessment of how the changes outlined in Skills for Sustainable Growth (November, 2010) may affect ESOL learners is currently being carried out by the Department. I expect to be able to publish the assessment in due course.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeship starts  (a) in each age group and  (b) at each apprenticeship level in (i) each of the last three quarters of the academic year 2009-10, (ii) the academic year 2010-11 and (iii) each of the next three academic years.

John Hayes: holding answer 28 February 2011
	Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship Programme starts by level and age group (under 19,19-24 and 25+) for each quarter of 2009/10 and provisional data for the first quarter of the 2010/11 academic year, the latest quarter for which data are available.
	The Apprenticeships programme is a demand-led programme for young people and adults. Government funds Apprenticeship training but relies on employers and providers to work together to offer sufficient opportunities. Therefore, Government do not plan Apprenticeship places or set targets. We will have funding in place to train over 350,000 apprentices (at all ages) in 2010/11, though to reach this number employers and providers will need to work together to offer sufficient opportunities, in the context of the greater freedoms and flexibilities that we have created in the Further Education system.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by level and age group, 2009/10 to 2010/11 Quarter 1( 1) 
			2009/10  
			   Age  Quarter 1  Quarter 2  Quarter 3  Quarter 4  Full y ear  2010/11( 1)  Quarter 1 
			 Apprenticeship (level 2) Under 19 35,700 15,500 19,500 18,800 89,400 37,600 
			  19-24 20,100 16,200 17,200 19,300 72,800 20,600 
			  25+ 7,600 5,400 8,100 7,200 28,400 18,200 
			  Total 63,400 37,100 44,800 45,300 190,500 76,300 
			 
			 Advanced Apprenticeship (level 3) Under 19 14,600 3,400 5,000 4,300 27,200 16,600 
			  19-24 14,900 7,000 8,700 9,200 39,800 15,300 
			  25+ 5,800 3,300 6,100 5,500 20,600 10,400 
			  Total 35,200 13,600 19,700 19,100 87,700 42,300 
			 
			 Higher Level Apprenticeship (level 4+) Under 19 100 - - - 100 100 
			  19-24 600 200 300 100 1,200 700 
			  25+ 100 - - - 100 400 
			  Total 700 300 300 200 1,500 1,200 
			 
			 All Apprenticeships Under 19 50,300 18,900 24,500 23,100 116,800 54,200 
			  19-24 35,600 23,400 26,100 28,600 113,800 36,600 
			  25+ 13,400 8,700 14,200 12,800 49,100 29,000 
			  Total 99,300 51,000 64,800 64,500 279,700 119,800 
			 (1) Provisional estimates for 2010/11 are not directly comparable with figures for 2009/10.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. '-' indicates a base value of less than 50. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. 3. Quarter 1-1 August to 31 October; Quarter 2-1 November to 31 January; Quarter 3-1 February to 30 April; Quarter 4-1 May to 31 July.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 January 2011:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Apprentices

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people began an engineering apprenticeship in  (a) England,  (b) Hastings borough council and  (c) Hastings and Rye constituency in 2009-10.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts by young people (aged under 19) on an engineering framework in England and Hastings and Rye parliamentary constituency in the 2009/10 academic year. We hold data only at local education authority and parliamentary constituency levels.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by young people (aged under 19) on an engineering framework in Hasting and Rye constituency and England, 2009/10 
			  Geography  Apprenticeship starts 
			 Hastings and Rye parliamentary constituency 10 
			 England 7,800 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for England are rounded to the nearest 100. Figures for parliamentary constituency are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. 3. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. The England figure includes those learners studying in England where the postcode is not known or is outside of England. 4. We hold data only at local education authority and parliamentary constituency levels.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 January:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Apprentices

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the administrative and regulatory barriers to employers taking on apprentices; and what steps he is taking to remove such barriers.

John Hayes: holding answer 28 February 2011
	We are committed to expanding apprenticeships, and by 2014-15 there will be public funding for 75,000 more adults to start an apprenticeship than under the previous Government's plans. This means we need encourage more employers to get involved by both maintaining quality and making the system easier for employers to take on apprentices.
	"Skills for Sustainable Growth", published in November 2010, clearly set out the Government's commitment to making the learning and skills system more responsive to learners and employers. We are reforming the system by reducing the number of bodies in the skills landscape, introducing a much simpler funding system, and more proportionate quality assurance and inspection.
	In addition, the Department is currently working with a group of larger employers to further examine the burdens imposed on employers when engaging with the skills system. The findings will be reported in spring 2011 and will inform future arrangements.
	More generally, this Government are committed to removing avoidable regulatory burdens wherever they arise-the One-in, One-out rule for regulation is beginning to stem the flow of regulation and next month the outcomes from the Growth Review will be announced in the Budget. This will set out what each part of government is doing to enable growth and create the positive business environment required for businesses to start-up, invest and prosper.

Apprentices: Blackpool

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship places there were in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009 and  (c) 2010.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship starts in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency for the academic years 2007/08 to 2009/10.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship Programme Starts, 2007/08 to 2009/10 
			  Blackpool North and Cleveleys 
			   Number 
			 2007/08 500 
			 2008/09 460 
			 2009/10 680 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for Blackpool North and Cleveleys parliamentary constituency are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures are based upon the home postcode of the learner.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 January 2011:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Apprentices: North East

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding he has allocated to (a) apprenticeship places, (b) advanced apprenticeship places and (c) higher apprenticeship places in (i) North West Durham constituency and (ii) the North East in 2011-12.

John Hayes: Funding for Apprenticeships will increase to over £1,400 million in the 2011-12 financial year: £799m for 16-18 year olds; £605m for those aged 19 and over.(1) We fund Apprenticeships on a national basis through the Skills Funding Agency - there are no regional allocations, nor allocations by level.
	There are almost 200 job roles at levels 2, 3 and 4 in which someone may undertake an Intermediate, Advanced Level or Higher Apprenticeship. Take-up by level, constituency and region follows employer demand. For these reasons, we are not able to provide estimates of the number, level, and geographical distribution of Apprenticeship places or funding as these would be either too broad to be of use or would be potentially misleading.
	(1) 16-18 figures: 16-19 Funding Statement, YPLA (December 2010); 19+ figures: Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth, BIS (November 2010)

Cosmetics: EU Law

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to implement in UK law the provisions of EU Directive 76/768 EEC, as amended, on cosmetic products; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The latest consolidated transposition of Directive 76/768/EEC was implemented by the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2008. There have since been eight amending statutory instruments.

Entry Clearances: India

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria his Department plans to use to ensure that migrants entering the UK under the EU-India Free Trade Agreement are highly skilled and highly qualified.

Edward Davey: holding answer 3 March 2011
	The EU-lndia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is still under negotiation. We expect the FTA to include provisions allowing for the temporary movement of certain categories of natural person for business purposes. All these categories are temporary-they are subject to defined durations of stay, after which the person concerned will be required to return home.
	We expect that the criteria for allowing entry to the UK for these categories will be modelled on those in the EU's revised services offer in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Round, and could include the possession of relevant qualifications or professional experience and the satisfaction of minimum salary requirements.

Further Education

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support 16 to 19 year old education in further education colleges in areas where there is no sixth form provision.

Nick Gibb: I have been asked to reply.
	Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure sufficient suitable education and training opportunities to meet the reasonable needs of all 16 to 19-year-olds in their area.
	In July 2010, the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced a series of steps to simplify the funding system for 16 to 19-year-olds, including giving local authorities a key strategic leadership role to champion the interests of young people in their area. They will do this by maintaining an overview of provision and the needs of young people in their area, identifying gaps, enabling new provision and developing the market.
	From 2011/12 core 16-19 allocation budgets for school sixth forms and colleges will be based on the equivalent of lagged pupil numbers thus ensuring that funding more explicitly follows the young person. We are also devolving responsibility to institutions to decide on their curriculum offer and mix of provision so that they can respond to the needs of individual students.

Graduates: Medicine

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial assistance his Department makes available to graduate medical students.

David Willetts: The responsibility for providing student support in England to graduates studying medicine is shared between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which offers a maintenance loan and the Department of Health which pays the tuition fee and provides a means tested NHS bursary for the latter years of study.
	Graduates on the accelerated graduate entry medical programme have access to a maintenance loan for the first year of study and a reduced level maintenance loan until they complete their course. From year 2 of the course the Department of Health pays the tuition fee and also provides a means tested NHS bursary.
	Graduates studying medicine as a second undergraduate degree can access a maintenance loan for the first 4 years of their course and a reduced level maintenance loan until they complete the course. From year 5 of the course the Department of Health pays the tuition fee and provides a means tested NHS bursary.

Higher Education: Admissions

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the evidential basis is for his Department's proposal to create a generic distinction between State- and independent-educated pupils for the purposes of university admissions.

David Willetts: holding answer 28 February 2011
	The Government have no such proposals. Decisions about admission to university are a matter for individual universities, and not for Government. Data about the proportion of state school or college students admitted at each higher education institution has been published by the independent Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) since 2002/03. HESA does not publish information on the numbers of students who previously attended independent schools.

Higher Education: Admissions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to take steps to reduce the number of student places at higher education institutions which intend to charge more than £6,000 per annum in tuition fees; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 3 March 2011
	Our assumption for modelling the new higher education finance system was that the average charge across the sector would be around £7,500 per year. On that basis we would expect the number of student places across the spending review period to be broadly constant. Graduate contributions at that sort of level should replace any reduction in teaching grant. Higher average charges could have consequences for the student finance budget which we have indicated may need to be met from within the overall higher education budget. However, at this stage in the process it is too early to form a judgment on the level of charge that will be set. No institution so far has an agreed Access Agreement in place with the Director for Fair Access which would allow for a contribution to the costs of tuition to be set above £6,000.

Higher Education: Finance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of undergraduate university places that will be funded in each of the next five years.

David Willetts: We expect overall entrant and student numbers to remain broadly constant over the spending review period, but actual student numbers will depend on the response of students and universities to the new Higher Education funding package.

Higher Education: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2011,  Official Report, column 489W, on higher education: finance, 
	(1)  when he intends to announce the Government's priorities for the remaining teaching grant;
	(2)  when he intends to announce plans for further funding for higher education institutions in London to take account of additional costs in London; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 3 March 2011
	The Higher Education White Paper will set out our priorities for remaining teaching grant, including funding for higher education institutions in London.
	We are developing the White Paper in consultation with higher education institutions, students, employers and other experts and will publish it after we have seen how universities' price setting works this spring.

Higher Education: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people normally resident in Leeds Central constituency entered university in each year since 1990.

David Willetts: The number of entrants from Leeds Central constituency to UK higher education institutions are shown in the table, for the academic years 1995/96 to 2009/10. Figures are taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record, which has been collected annually since the 1994/95 academic year. Information at constituency level is not available for the 1994/95 academic year. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
	Information on entrants to higher education courses at further education colleges is not available at constituency level.
	
		
			  Entrants( 1)  from Leeds Central constituency( 2)  UK higher education institutions( 3) . Academic years 1995/96 to 2009/10 
			  Academic year  Entrants 
			 1995/96 555 
			 1996/97 565 
			 1997/98 615 
			 1998/99 710 
			 1999/2000 655 
			 2000/01 655 
			 2001/02 640 
			 2002/03 685 
			 2003/04 765 
			 2004/05 840 
			 2005/06 990 
			 2006/07 960 
			 2007/08 1,075 
			 2008/09 1,195 
			 2009/10 1,165 
			 (1 )Covers undergraduate and postgraduate entrants of ail ages to full-time and part-time courses. (2) The table does not include entrants where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid postcode information. (3 )Excludes the Open University due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants across the time series.  Note: Figures in the table are on a HESA snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded up or down to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record.

Higher Education: Racial Hatred

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will encourage universities to adopt the University of Manchester's model of barring hate preachers from campus through a freedom of speech code of practice.

David Willetts: It is for each institution to make their own decisions about codes of practices, policies and procedures on speakers on campus. Many institutions have existing policies and consult regularly with their local police and other partners before making decisions about speakers. As part of the development of the new Prevent strategy on tackling extremism, we will be highlighting good practice such as the University of Manchester's model and sharing this good practice with the rest of the sector.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what correspondence he has received on future funding arrangements for innovation centres currently funded by his Department and its agencies.

David Willetts: Many of the existing regional development agencies (RDA) funded centres were established with a clear expectation that they have plans in place to become self-sustaining when their current grants come to an end. As part of the process of transferring RDA responsibilities, including assets and liabilities to other organisations, we are considering the future of some of these centres on a case by case basis. This Department has had direct contact with a number of RDA-funded centres in the course of this work.
	Furthermore, as part of the process being taken forward by the Technology Strategy Board to establish a network of Technology and Innovation Centres, some of the existing centres will have had an opportunity to register an interest in forming all or part of the high value manufacturing centre and/or register an interest within the broad thematic areas of energy and resource efficiency; transport systems; health care; ICT; and electronics, photonics and electrical systems.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to make an announcement on future funding arrangements for innovation centres currently funded by regional development agencies.

David Willetts: Many of the existing regional development agencies (RDA) funded centres were established with a clear expectation that they have plans in place to become self-sustaining when their current grants come to an end. We are however considering the future of some of these centres on a case by case basis as part of the process of transferring RDA responsibilities, including assets and liabilities to other organisations.
	Furthermore, some of these centres may well succeed in their bids for future funding under the process of establishing the elite network of Technology and Innovation Centres that is being run by the Technology Strategy Board.
	Announcements on the outcomes of a competition to establish such centres will be made by the Technology Strategy Board following an open and competitive process.

Low-carbon Products: Intellectual Property

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress he has made on removing intellectual property barriers to trade in the field of low-carbon products.

Edward Davey: The intellectual property system plays an important role in promoting technological innovation and incentivising private sector investment in research and development of low carbon products. Evidence suggests that intellectual property rights are not a barrier to trade in low-carbon products in most cases, although inadequate enforcement in specific markets can discourage businesses from trading there.
	We have commissioned research on the role of intellectual property in the low carbon economy and continue to explore practical ways to further stimulate innovation and support technology diffusion. For example, in May 2009 the UK was the first country to implement a fast-track approval process for green patents to help enable technology to get to market more quickly. A number of other Intellectual Property Offices (IPO) including the US, South Korea and Japan have since adopted similar schemes. The UK also provides business support services to companies operating overseas, through UKTI and the IPO, to help overcome potential barriers to trade in specific markets.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to reply to the letter sent by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 21 December 2010 with regard to Mr P Walsh, transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Edward Davey: I responded to the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on 1 March 2011.

Research: Private Sector

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of barriers to private sector participation in the  (a) use and  (b) operation of assets funded by research councils; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of barriers to private sector participation in the provision of publicly-funded research and scientific services; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions his Department has had with  (a) Research Councils UK,  (b) each research council and  (c) the Council of Science and Technology on (i) increasing the proportion of his Department's funding for research awarded to private sector organisations, (ii) involving private sector bodies in the delivery of research council objectives and (iii) the delivery of research council priorities commissioning private sector service providers to deliver aspects of a research council's programme.

David Willetts: The Department's budget for science research is distributed by the Research Councils. They do not award funding direct to the private sector but fund some research in the academic research base that is carried out in collaboration with industry. RCUK and the Research Councils have been actively developing their business and industry interactions, which is increasing their ability to deliver Research Council priorities that are of relevance and importance to industry. The Council for Science and Technology was among the bodies which the Department consulted during the allocations process for the science research budget and their response was published at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/bispartners/cst/docs/files/letters/letter-adrian-smith.pdf
	There are a wide range of management and governance arrangements for organisations carrying out publicly-funded research and scientific services. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is responsible for the Research Council institutes (via the funding provided to the relevant Research Councils) and NPL. Plans for the future of the Research Council institutes were included in the Allocation of Science and Research Funding 2011/12 to 2014/15 and in the individual Research Council Delivery Plans which were published late last year. The extent to which the private sector should be involved in the management of Research Council assets was taken into account in developing these Allocations and Delivery Plans. In the case of NPL the laboratory is currently operated on behalf of the Secretary of State by a private sector body.
	Responsibility for other organisations carrying out publicly-funded research and scientific services lies with their parent Department. It is for that Department, in consultation with the management of the Public Sector Research Establishment, to decide on the extent to which the private sector participates in their management. This model ensures that there is a clear line of accountability for the management of each research organisation.

Students: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of maintenance and tuition fee loans made by the Student Loan Company (a) to applicants in Coventry and (b) in total in the academic year 2009-10.

David Willetts: In academic year 2009/10, the Student Loans Company (SLC) paid approximately £17.3 million towards maintenance loans for students residing in Coventry when they applied for financial support. This represents less than one per cent of the total amount paid towards students domiciled in England in this academic year which amounted to £2.9 billion.
	The SLC paid approximately £13.6 million towards tuition fee loans for students residing in Coventry. Again, this represents less than one per cent of the total amount paid to English-domiciled students in academic year 2009/10 which amounted to £2.3 billion.

Students: Finance

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of graduates resident in  (a) Hastings borough council area,  (b) Hastings and Rye constituency,  (c) East Sussex and  (d) England who have not made a student loan repayment since the present system of student finance came into operation.

David Willetts: The estimated number of borrowers residing in Hastings and Rye, East Sussex and England who have not made any loan repayments since the present system of income contingent loan repayments came into operation is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Latest known address( 1) 
			   Hastings and Rye (constituency)  East Sussex (region)  England (nation) 
			 Number of borrowers(2) 700 3,500 397,400 
			 (1) This corresponds to the address given by the borrowers when they opened the last loan account. The borrower may have moved elsewhere since. (2) The table covers all cohorts liable to repay with at least one tax year processed-ie those who came into repayment during tax year April 2000/01 to April 2008/09 inclusive. It includes borrowers currently earning under the repayment threshold unless they chose to make a repayment.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

Students: Grants

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the monetary value of bursaries available to undergraduates in the academic year 2009-10.

David Willetts: The expenditure of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK is collected as part of the Higher Education Statistics Agency's (HESA) Finance Record. Expenditure on bursaries cannot be separately identified from the HESA finance record.
	An estimate of expenditure on bursaries by English Universities from their additional tuition fee income is available in "The Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance: First Call for Evidence: Submission by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), 31 January 2010".
	OFFA estimates that over £350 million was spent by English Universities on bursaries from their additional tuition fee income in 2009/10.

Students: Loans

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students have been prosecuted for non-repayment of student loans in each of the last five years; and how many of those were convicted in each such year.

David Willetts: If former students are resident in the UK, student loan repayments are usually deducted at source by employers through the UK tax system. There are therefore no arrears and subsequently no prosecutions for non repayment for those resident in the UK have taken place.
	The Student Loans Company (SLC) has established repayment arrangements for former students who move abroad, whether temporarily or because they live in another country, the SLC asks for information about earnings and gives the borrower a monthly repayment schedule under the terms of the contract of the loan.
	Tuition fee loans have been available for EU students since 2006/07. The first main cohort of these students commenced their repayments in April 2010, provided that their income was above the appropriate threshold.
	EC Regulation 44/2001 enables the SLC to obtain judgments in UK courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries. These judgments can be enforced against any borrower who has moved to another EU member state, regardless of nationality.
	In 2009, the SLC successfully raised 9 judgments against EU borrowers with tuition fee loans who left their course early or studied shorter courses. The SLC enforced some in Scottish courts and some in other EU countries.

Students: Loans

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average monetary value of a student loan to residents of  (a) Kent and  (b) Sevenoaks constituency was in each year since 2005.

David Willetts: holding answer 3 March 2011
	The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Average student loan paid, Kent( 1)  by academic year 
			   2005/06  2006/07  2007/08  2008/09  2009/10 
			 Tuition fee loan n/a 1,960 2,450 2,820 2,960 
			 Maintenance loan 3,450 3,600 3,540 3,580 3,630 
			 n/a = not applicable (1) Based on address at the time of application. Amounts rounded to nearest £10.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	
		
			  Average student loan paid, Sevenoaks constituency( 1)  by academic year 
			   2005/06  2006/07  2007/08  2008/09  2009/10 
			 Tuition fee loan n/a 1,960 2,460 2,870 3,000 
			 Maintenance loan 3,390 3,610 3,560 3,590 3,650 
			 n/a = not applicable (1 )Based on address at the time of application. Amounts rounded to nearest £10.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	Tuition fee loans were introduced in academic year 2006/07.

Technology Strategy Board

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the reasons are for the time taken to determine the future core budget for the Technology Strategy Board for 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The formal budget allocation to the Technology Strategy Board is tied to its Tasking Framework for the Spending Review period. The Tasking Framework describes the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and wider Government policies for technology and innovation, and its objectives for the Technology Strategy Board for the Spending Review period.
	Given recent changes to the landscape of organisations providing direct support and the need to agree administrative savings from within BIS and our partner organisations, this process is only now reaching its conclusion.

Trade Unions: Training

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have been on unionlearn courses funded  (a) directly and  (b) indirectly by (i) his Department, (ii) non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, (iii) European bodies and (iv) other sources from the public purse; which courses or schemes they participated in; and what qualifications were obtained in each such case.

John Hayes: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides funding to support the Union Learning Fund (ULF) and unionlearn, the TUC's learning and skills organisation, which administers the fund on behalf of the Department. The main purpose of this budget is to enable trade unions and Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) to work with employers, employees and learning providers to encourage greater take up of learning and raise skill levels in the workplace. It is not used to fund the provision of education or training courses but enables trade unions and their ULRs to provide advice, guidance and support in order to help workers, particularly those with low skills, access learning opportunities to improve their skill levels.
	With the help of the ULF, and supported by unionlearn, trade unions and their ULRs have achieved real success in working with employers and training providers to help people get back into learning, addressing both organisational and individual skill needs. In 2009-10 over 233,000 learners in workplaces across the country were helped back into learning by the ULF and ULRs.
	A recent evaluation of the ULF and unionlearn from 2006-09 undertaken by the Leeds University Business School shows that employers as well as workers benefit from union learning activity. Two-thirds of employers say there has been a benefit to their organisation; and 8 in 10 cite a benefit to individual learners, over half of whom improved their qualifications having been helped to access a suitable learning opportunity.
	The final report of this evaluation will be published shortly and a copy will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Trade Unions: Training

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department provided  (a) directly and  (b) indirectly to unionlearn to pay for (i) staffing costs, (ii) administration, (iii) advertising and (iv) hospitality in each of the last three years.

John Hayes: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provides funding directly to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) under an annual grant agreement to support the Union Learning Fund (ULF) and unionlearn, the TUC's learning and skills organisation. The main purpose of this budget is to enable trade unions and Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) to work with employers, employees and learning providers to encourage a greater take up of learning and raise skill levels in the workplace.
	The total amount of direct grant funding allocated by BIS and its predecessor Departments for each of the last three financial years, which includes provision for staffing costs and administration, is set out in the following table.
	There are no specified budgets in the annual grant agreements for advertising or hospitality. Any expenditure under these headings is absorbed under other budget headings.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Total grant  Staffing costs  Administration including accommodation 
			 2009-2010 21,500,000 4,850,137 1,536,548 
			 2008-2009 21,400,000 4,495,536 1,434,463 
			 2007-2008 18,400,000 3,777,263 1,251,187 
		
	
	The TUC also received funding to support unionlearn activity at a regional level from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and a number of Regional Development Agencies all of which received grant funding from BIS' predecessor Departments. Information on LSC and RDA regional funding for unionlearn is not held centrally by the Department and collating this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

JUSTICE

Salix Scheme: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £337,000 to the Department of Energy and Climate Change in connection with the repayment of energy savings pump priming funds for the Salix scheme.

Jonathan Djanogly: As part of the Salix energy savings Scheme which is funded by the Carbon Trust a delivery partner of the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the MoJ has made a payment of £337,000 in relation to repayment of energy savings pump priming funds.

Abell House: Operating Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the spring supplementary estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed an increase of operating appropriations in aid of £19 million in relation to the sale of Abell house and Cleland house.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice sold Abell house and Cleland house, as part of the Ministry's estate rationalisation programme, the income received over and above the net book value of these buildings was £19 million which HM Treasury have allowed the Department to retain.

Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what research his Department has undertaken on the potential effect of his proposed arrangements for civil litigation costs on each socio-economic group;
	(2)  what research his Department has evaluated on the effect on litigation of excessive or disproportionate costs; and what assessment he has made of the requirement for further research into reasons for recent trends in the cost of civil litigation;
	(3)  what research his Department has undertaken on the effect of his proposed arrangements for civil litigation costs on the likelihood of  (a) individuals and  (b) families on low incomes making a legitimate claim for compensation in personal injury cases.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has not commissioned any specific research into any of these areas. However, Lord Justice Jackson conducted a year-long review in this area and published his final report in January 2011. The Government then held a public consultation from 15 November 2010 on implementing the key proposals and sought data to help assess the potential impact. Preliminary impact assessments were published alongside that consultation, Proposals "for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales-Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Proposals," available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/jackson-review-151110.htm
	The consultation closed on 14 February 2011. We are now considering the responses and data received. A final impact assessment will be published alongside the Government response later this spring.

Community Legal Service: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £44 million from his Department to the Community Legal Service;
	(2)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £44 million in the voted expenditure offset by an increase in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Community Legal Service.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £44 million resource funding to the Legal Services Commission relates to a shortfall in provisions, primarily driven by higher than anticipated volumes of public law children cases.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Criminal Defence Service: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £56 million from his Department to the Criminal Defence Service;
	(2)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £56 million in the voted expenditure offset by an increase in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Criminal Defence Service.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £56 million resource funding to the Legal Services Commission relates to a shortfall in provisions, primarily driven by an increase in the number of Crown court case starts and from a delay in income receipts following the introduction of Means Testing in the Crown court.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £40 million to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority;
	(2)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £40 million in the voted expenditure offset by an increase in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £40,000,000 resource funding to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority relates to funding to cover tariff compensation payments to applicants.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Departmental Pay

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employees of  (a) his Department,  (b) its executive agencies and  (c) non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have an annual salary of over £100,000.

Jonathan Djanogly: As at 31 January 2011, 43 employees of the Department and its executive agencies were receiving annual salaries in excess of £100,000.
	At the same date, 14 employees of the executive non-departmental public bodies for which the Ministry of Justice is responsible were receiving annual salaries in excess of £100,000.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he is responsible.

Jonathan Djanogly: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.

European Convention on Human Rights

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the proposed accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Treaty of Lisbon provides that the European Union shall accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Government supports the principle that individuals should be able to hold the European Union itself to account for breaches of human rights in the same way as its member states. However, the Government will need to be sure that any accession agreement neither enlarges the competences of the Union nor negatively affects the position of the United Kingdom and other member states in relation to the ECHR. The Government will continue to participate fully in discussions about accession with these principles in mind.

European Convention on Human Rights

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Council of Europe member states on the margin of appreciation given to member states within the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights.

Jonathan Djanogly: The margin of appreciation afforded to governments in the national implementation of the Convention rights is not itself defined in the Convention. Instead it is to be found in the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, and can vary from right to right, from case to case, and over time. I have not yet had specific discussions about the margin of appreciation with my counterparts, although where appropriate in proceedings before the Court, the Government argues for the United Kingdom to be afforded a broad margin of appreciation.
	The Government are committed to supporting and building on the process of court reform under way in Strasbourg. As part of the reform process, the Government would wish to see a strengthening of the principle of subsidiarity; that is, that the Convention should principally be implemented at a national level. The Government will work with other member states of the Council of Europe and the Court, including through our Chairmanship of the Council of Europe (November 2011-May 2012), to find ways to give further practical effect to this principle in the Convention system.

European Court of Human Rights

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his response is to the Interlaken Declaration on the future of the European Court of Human Rights, 19 February 2010; what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Declaration on the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government are committed to supporting and building on the process of court reform under way in Strasbourg.
	As part of the reform process, the Government would wish to see a strengthening of the principle of subsidiarity; that is, that the Convention should principally be implemented at a national level. The Government will work with other member states of the Council of Europe and the Court, including through our Chairmanship of the Council of Europe (November 2011-May 2012), to find ways to give further practical effect to this principle in the Convention system.

Homicide: Compensation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much compensation his Department paid to the families of victims of murder and manslaughter in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009,  (c) 2010 and  (d) 2011 to date;
	(2)  Justice how much was paid in compensation to families of victims of murder and manslaughter in each year since 2008.

Kenneth Clarke: In the calendar years specified, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority paid the following amounts to the families of murder and manslaughter victims:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008 15,534,116 
			 2009 17,905,550 
			 2010 12,171,810 
			 2011 (1)3,050,945 
			 (1) To 1 March 
		
	
	The variations from year-to-year result from variations in the number of claimants and the circumstances of each claim.

Information Commissioner: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a decrease of £750,000 in non-budget spending offset by an increase in voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in capital funding to the Information Commissioner;
	(2)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £750,000 from the Information Commissioner.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is the Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £750,000 resource funding from the Information Commissioner relates to additional capital funding no longer required.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Information Commissioner: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £373,000 to the Information Commissioner;
	(2)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £373,000 in the voted expenditure offset by an increase in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Information Commissioner.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the Estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £373,000 resource funding to the Information Commissioner relates to funding to an increase in depreciation costs on IT projects.
	The impact of this transfer in the Estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Legal Services Commission: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed an increase of £7,500,000 in non-voted expenditure offset by a decrease in voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Legal Services Commission;
	(2)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £7.5 million in the voted expenditure offset by an increase in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Legal Services Commission.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £7,500,000 resource funding to the Legal Services Commission relates to pension contributions.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in the reduction in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Legal Services Commission: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the spring supplementary estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed an increase of £175,000 in voted expenditure offset by a decrease in voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Legal Services Commission.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	According to the spring supplementary estimate this transaction relates to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority not the Legal Services Commission.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £175,000 resource funding to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority relates to additional capital funding to fund the Electronic Workforce Management Project and the Business Continuity Project.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Legal Services Commission: Public Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of changing the status of the Legal Services Commission to that of an Executive agency.

Jonathan Djanogly: The estimated cost of the transition to agency status is a total one off cost of around £8 million by the end of the SR10 period. This figure excludes employer contribution costs for the Legal Services Commission's No. 4 pension scheme or for funding any deficit in the scheme (should there be one) at the point of transition. This is excluded as this cost will occur regardless of status, and is therefore a timing issue. estimates, again excluding pension costs, also indicate that the change in status will result in ongoing net savings of around £8.4 million per year, by the end of the 2014-15 financial year. This financial saving is in addition to the non-financial benefits of the change in status, including:
	clarity of accountability for legal aid (both politically and financially)
	one policy voice and one set of priorities for legal aid;
	shared priorities and improved collaboration with other criminal and civil justice bodies; and
	maximisation of opportunities for administrative efficiencies through greater use of shared and centralised services across the MoJ and wider government.

Mental Health Review Tribunal: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed an increase of £1 million in relation to a transfer from the Department of Health for the Mental Health Review Tribunal.

Jonathan Djanogly: Following the implementation of the Mental Health Act 2007, the Department of Health agreed to transfer on a yearly basis the downstream costs incurred by the Tribunal Service as a result of the implementation of the Act. This transfer represents the costs for 2010-11.

Office of Legal Complaints: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed an increase of £2,000,000 in voted expenditure offset by a decrease in voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding to the Office of Legal Complaints;
	(2)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £2 million from his Department to the Office of Legal Complaints.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £2,000,000 resource funding to the Office of Legal Complaints for premises and information technology costs.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Open Data Project: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £2.5 million in relation to a transfer to the Department for Communities and Local Government for his Department's contribution to the Open Data project.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Open Data project is a Department for Communities and Local Government initiative to publish certain Ordnance Survey datasets for free use and commercial re-use by all. This transfer represents Ministry of Justice's contribution to the costs of this scheme.

Operating Costs: Grenadier House and Ashley House

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, 
	(1)  for what reasons there is proposed an increase of £1,847,000 in relation to a transfer from the Home Office of the operating costs associated with Grenadier House;
	(2)  for what reasons there is proposed an increase of £709,000 in relation to a transfer from the Home Office of the operating costs associated with Ashley House;
	(3)  for what reason there is proposed an increase of  (a) £1.847 million in relation to a transfer from the Home Office for the operating costs associated with Grenadier House and  (b) £709,000 in relation to a transfer from the Home Office for the operating costs associated with Ashley House.

Jonathan Djanogly: Following the creation of the Ministry of Justice and as part of the Machinery of Government change in 2007-08, the Home Office transferred a budget to the Ministry to cover the operating costs of staff occupancy within Grenadier House and Ashley House. The transfer of £1,847,000 relates to operating costs in 2010-11 for Grenadier House and a transfer of £709,000 relates to operating costs in 2010-11 for Ashley House.
	The Home Office continue to incur the operating costs related to both Grenadier House and Ashley House and invoice the Ministry of Justice in order to recover these costs. This ensures that the Ministry's Resource Accounts capture the full cost of the Department.

Parole Board: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £187,000 from his Department to the Parole Board;
	(2)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £187,000 from his Department to the Parole Board.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the Estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £187,000 funding to the Parole Board for spending on IT Projects.
	The impact of this transfer in the Estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Parole Board: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed an increase of £770,000 in voted expenditure offset by a decrease in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding from the Parole Board.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £770,000 resource funding to the Parole Board relates to additional funding for litigation and training costs.
	The impact of this transfer in the estimate has resulted in an increase in non budget funding for an arm's length body and with no overall increase in the departmental expenditure limit.

Pleural Plaques Compensation Scheme: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed an increase of £17 million in end-year flexibility in relation to the Pleural Plaques Compensation Scheme.

Jonathan Djanogly: The MoJ is running the extra statutory payment scheme in England and Wales for those people who were pursuing an unresolved legal claim to obtain compensation for the asbestos-related condition of pleural plaques.
	The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), agreed that those Departments, who hold liabilities as former employers, should fund the extra statutory payment scheme.
	The Ministry of Justice received £16.5 million resource funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Ministry of Defence, Department for Transport and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	The £17 million end year flexibility funding in the spring supplementary estimate represents the Ministry of Justice's contribution towards running the pleural plaques scheme.

Prisoners: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £211,000 in relation to a transfer to the Department of Health for prisoner healthcare costs;

Jonathan Djanogly: This represents a transfer of £211,000 from the MoJ to the Department of Health to cover the additional prison healthcare costs associated with expansions at Dovegate/Elmley and Forest Bank.

Prisons: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £14 million in relation to the effects of Interpretation 12 issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee and the treatment of prisons constructed under the private finance initiative.

Jonathan Djanogly: Following a ruling by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the change in accounting treatment of PFI Prisons, there is a resource impact on the Ministry of Justice, which increases the overall resource departmental expenditure limit by £6 million. This is made of the decrease of £14 million referred to above and the increase of £20 million referred to in the hon. Member's question number 43606.
	This change will also impact the SR10 period.

Prisons: Private Finance Initiative

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed an increase of £20 million in relation to Interpretation 12 issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee and the treatment of prisons constructed under the Private Finance Initiative.

Jonathan Djanogly: Following a ruling by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the change in accounting treatment of PFI prisons, there is a resource impact on the Ministry of Justice, which increases the overall resource departmental expenditure limit by £6 million. This is made of the increase of £20 million referred to above and the decrease of £14 million referred to in the hon. Member's question number 43600.
	This change will also impact the SR10 period.

Prisons: Working Conditions

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether prisons are required to maintain up-to-date risk assessments of safe systems of work in respect of the safety of (a) staff,  (b) prisoners and  (c) visitors.

Crispin Blunt: Under Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 42/2010, Governing Governors are required to ensure that an assessment of the risks to which their staff and others who may be affected by their undertakings are exposed, is carried out and that measures are in place to eliminate or control the risk. Others affected by their undertakings includes prisoners, visitors and contractors.
	Governing Governors must detail the arrangement for carrying out assessments and managing the significant risks identified by the assessments. Arrangements for managing significant risks will include written safe systems of work.

Prisons: Working Conditions

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons have been found not to have up-to-date risk assessments of safe systems of work in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: Under Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 42/2010, Governing Governors are required to ensure that an assessment of the risks to which their staff and others who may be affected by their undertakings are exposed is carried out and that measures are in place to eliminate or control the risk.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not collect information centrally as to whether risk assessments have been carried out or safe systems of work have been implemented in prisons. This will be identified by the audit process on an individual prison basis.
	An audit of the health and safety performance of each prison is carried out every two years by departmental health and safety advisors. The audit focuses on the procedures in place for implementing the requirements of health and safety legislation, including arrangements for carrying out risk assessments and implementing measures to eliminate or reduce the risks. A report is prepared for Governors which includes any deficiencies identified during the audit, the actions required to ensure compliance with legislation and Prison Service Guidance and timescales for implementation.

Terrorism: Victims

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £400,000 in relation to the contribution from the Home Office to victims of overseas terrorism;
	(2)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of £200,000 in relation to the contribution from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to victims of overseas terrorism;
	(3)  with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed an increase of £1.4 million in end of year flexibility in relation to the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme.

Jonathan Djanogly: On 18 January 2010 the previous Administration announced an intention to make non-statutory payments to eligible victims of overseas terrorism through the introduction of an ex-gratia scheme. This has not been implemented and is currently under review as part of a Ministry of Justice review of victim services and compensation.
	The £1.4 million end year flexibility funding in the spring supplementary estimate represented the Ministry of Justice's contribution to this proposal. The Home Office (£0.4 million) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (£0.2 million) were also able to contribute.

Women Offender Family Intervention Projects: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed a decrease of £250,000 in relation to a transfer to the Department for Education for women offender family intervention projects.

Jonathan Djanogly: Transferring funds is a standard part of the Ministry of
	Justice's business as usual practices. This usually involves taking funds from one area where they are working under-budget and moving them to an area that needs more resources. This is seen as financial best practice. This can include transfers to and from the MoJ's arm's length bodies.
	Where funds are being transferred to other Government Departments, this is because the Ministry of Justice has entered into an agreement to part fund a project or scheme that is being led by another Government Department. Cross-government working is an effective way of delivering effective, joined up services to the public
	This represents a transfer to the Department of Education to cover the education costs relating to women offenders under the auspices of the women offender family intervention projects.

Work Force Modernisation: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2010-11, HC 790, for what reasons there is proposed a drawdown of £36,000,000 in end year flexibility in relation to work force modernisation;
	(2)  with reference to the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, for what reason there is proposed an increase of £36 million in end-year flexibility in relation to modernisation funding.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice received £36 million end year flexibility funding from HM Treasury to help deliver the ongoing modernisation programme and efficiency savings going forward.
	This funding will be used to meet the costs of the following programmes:
	 Shared Service Programme
	The £20 million funding is to part fund the Department's Shared Services Programme in 2010-11. The programme aims to set up a shared service centre, which will benefit the entire Ministry and will help to make financial savings across the spending review period and beyond.
	 Estates Transformation Programme
	The £15 million is to part fund the Ministry of Justice's Estates Transformation Programme. This aims to rationalise the Department's administrative estate by vacating and closing surplus properties and by reducing the scale and the overall cost of the estate. The rationalisation of the Ministry's estate will help in making financial savings across the SR10 period and beyond.
	 eProcurement Programme
	The £l million funding is to part fund the implementation of the eProcurement Programme, which aims to enable wider procurement savings across the SR10 period and beyond.

Youth Justice Board: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the spring supplementary estimates for 2010-11, HC 790, 
	(1)  for what reason there is proposed an increase of £20 million in voted expenditure offset by a decrease in non-voted expenditure in relation to an internal movement in funding from the Youth Justice Board;
	(2)  for what reasons there is proposed a transfer of resource funding of £20,000,000 from the Youth Justice Board.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is Ministry of Justice's responsibility to manage the control totals set by HM Treasury and as part of the Department's operational responsibility and financial management, it works closely with its business areas in order to review forecast plans and in year expenditure and uses the estimates process to appropriately align funding to business area forecast expenditure. This is a business as usual practice and includes transfers to and from the Department's arm's length bodies.
	As a result of an internal review of forecast outturn plans, the transfer of £20,000,000 resource funding to the corporate centre relates to in year efficiency savings realised within the Youth Justice Board. These have materialised as a result of falling demand for custodial accommodation and decommissioning of places in the juvenile secure estate. To help deal with forecast pressures elsewhere, this funding was re-distributed to other areas of the Department.